Section Two

The traditions that give glad-tidings about him and his reappearance in the end of times.

Comprises of 1092 traditions that will either be mentioned (located in this chapter) or referred to (located in other chapters)

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353. Musnad of Aḥmad:1 Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from Ḥajjāj and Abū Nu`aim, from Fiṭr, from al-Qāsim b. Abī Bazza, from Abū l-Ṭufail, from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “If there remains from the world but one day, Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, will send a man who will fill it with justice just as it will be filled with injustice.”

[The narrator says,] Abū-Nu`aim mentioned: “A man from us.” I heard Murra narrating it from Ḥabīb, from Abū l-Ṭufail, from `Alī, may, Allah be satisfied with him, from the Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family].”

354. Sunan al-Tirmidhī (The Chapter on what has been narrated about the Mahdī):2 Narrated to us `Ubaid b. Asbāṭ b. Muḥammad al-Qurashī, from his father, from Sufyān al-Thaurī, from `Āṣim b. Bahdala, from Zirr, from `Abd-Allah, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “The world will not perish until a person from my Ahl al-Bait will rule the Arabs. His name will be my name.” Abū `Īsā says: “It has also been narrated from `Alī, Abū Sa`īd, Umm Salma, and Abū Huraira and this tradition is good (ḥasan) and authentic (sahih).

355. Sunan al-Tirmidhī (The Chapter on what has been narrated about the Mahdī):3 Narrated to us Abd al-Jabbār b. al-`alā’ b. Abd al-Jabbār al-`Aṭṭār, from Sufyān b. `Uyayna, from `Āṣim, from Zirr, from `Abd-Allah, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “A person from my Ahl al-Bait will rule. His name will be my name.”

356. Sunan al-Tirmidhī (The Chapter on what has been narrated about the Mahdī):4 Through the aforementioned chain of narrators, `Āṣim and Abū Ṣāliḥ narrate from Abū Huraira that the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “If there remains only one day from the world, Allah will certainly prolong that day until he rules.”

Abū-Īsā says: “This tradition is good (ḥasan) and correct (ṣaḥīḥ).

357. Musnad Aḥmad5: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from Sufyān b. `Uyayna, from `Āṣim, from Zirr, from `Abd-Allah, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “The Hour will not be established until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rules. His name will be my name.”

[`Abd-Allah recounts] my father said: “He narrated this to us in his house in his room. I saw some of the sons of Ja`far b. Yaḥyā or Yaḥyā b. Khālid b. Yaḥyā asking him about it.”

We feared that misfortune would occur after our Prophet. So, we asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon him [and his family], who replied, “Surely the Mahdī is from my umma. He will emerge and live five or seven or nine.7” Zaid al-Shāk said, “We asked, ‘What are these?’ He replied, ‘Years. A man will come to him and say, “O Mahdī! Give me, give me.” Then as much as he can carry will be put in his cloth.’”

[Al-Tirmidhī says]: “This tradition is good (ḥasan) and has been narrated from Abū Sa’īd, from the Holy Prophet, may Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family]. The name of Abu l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī is Bakr b. `Amr. It has also been said Bakr b. Qays. Aḥmad has recorded it.”

359. Sunan Abī Dāwūd and ibn Māja8: Narrated to us Aḥmad b. ‘Ibrāhīm from `Abd-Allah b. Ja`far al-Riqqī, from Abū l-Malīḥ al-Ḥasan b. `Umar, from Ziyād b. Bayān, from `Alī ibn Nufayl, from Sa`īd b. al-Musayyib, from Ummi Salma who recounts: “I heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], say: ‘The Mahdī is from my progeny from the descendants of Fātīma.’”

Ibn Māja has recorded this tradition through his chain of narrators from Abū l-Malīḥ, from Ziyād b. Bayān, from `Alī b. Nufayl, from Sa`īd b. al-Musayyib, who said: “We were with Ummi Salma when we spoke of Mahdī. She said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], say: “Mahdī is from the children of Fātīma.”’”

I say: This is a correct (ṣaḥīḥ) tradition. Al-Suyūṭī and al-Ḥākim have clearly declared its correctness.

360. Sunan Abī Dāwūd9: Narrated to us Sahl b. Tamām b. Bazī`, from `Imrān al-Qaṭṭān, from Qatāda, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon him [and his family], who said: “The Mahdī is from me. (He has) a hairless forehead and an aquiline nose. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness. He will rule for seven years.”

Al-Ḥākim has narrated it through his chain of narrators with some differences and has said: “This tradition is correct (ṣaḥīḥ) according to the criteria of al-Muslim, but they [i.e. al-Bukhārī and al-Muslim] have not narrated it.”

361. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī10: Narrated to us ibn Bukair, from al-Laith, from Yūnus, from ibn Shihāb, from Nāfi’ the slave of Abū Qatāda al-Anṣārī, from Abū-Huraira, from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who asked: “What will be your condition when the son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imam is from yourselves?”

Muslim has also recorded this: “Narrated to me Ḥarmala b. Yaḥyā, from ibn Wahab, from Yūnus, from ibn Shihāb, from Nāfi` the slave of Abū-Qatāda al-Anṣārī, from Abū-Huraira, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who asked: “What will be your condition when the son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imam is from yourselves?”

362. Musnad Aḥmad11: Narrated to us Faḍl b. Dukain, from Yāsīn al-`Ijlī, from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, from his father, from `Alī, peace be on him, who said that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “The Mahdī is from us Ahl al-Bait. Allah will straighten out his [affair] in one night.”

Ibn Māja has recorded this tradition in his Sunan: “Narrated to us `Uthmān b. Abī Shaiba, from Abū Dāwūd al-Khuḍrī, from Yāsīn, from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, from his father, from `Alī, peace be on him, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “The Mahdī is from us Ahl al-Bait . . .”

363. Sunan ibn Māja12: Narrated to us Hadiyyat b. `Abd al-Wahhāb, from Sa`d b. Abd al-Ḥamīd b. Ja`far, from `Alī b. Ziyād al-Yamāmī, from `Akramat b. `Ammār, from Isḥāq b. `Abd-Allah b. Abī Ṭalḥa, from Anas b. Mālik, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “We children of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib are the masters (sādāt) of the dwellers of Paradise: I, Ḥamza, `Alī, Ja`far, al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn and al-Mahdī.”

364. al-Mu`jam al-kabīr13: Narrated to us Yaḥyā b. `Abd al-Bāqī, from Yūsuf b. `Abd al-Raḥmān al-Marwazī, from Abū Taqī `Abd al-Ḥamīd b. Ibrāhīm al-Ḥimṣī, from Ma`dān b. Sulaim al-Ḥaḍramī, from `Abd al-Raḥmān b. Najīḥ, from Abū Zāhiriyya, from Jubair b. Nufair, from `Auf b. Mālik that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “O `Auf! What will be your condition when this umma breaks up into seventy-three sects, one will be in Paradise and all the others will be in Hell?” I asked, “When will this happen, O Messenger of Allah?”

He replied, “When the dishonorable will be many, the slave-girls will rule, children (al-ḥamlān) will sit on the pulpits, [the Holy Quran will be (recited) with music, mosques will be decorated, the pulpits will be raised]14, the wealth [belonging to the Prophet] (al-fay’) will be passed between [those that it doesn’t belong to], zakāt will be taken by force, trust (al-amāna) will be taken as booty, knowledge in religion will be learned with other than Allah in mind, man will obey his wife while leaving his mother and expelling his father, the last of this umma will curse its first ones, the sinners of a tribe will be their chiefs, the most degraded people of a nation will be their leaders, and people will be respected for the fear of their evil. When this happens, the people will take refuge in Syria [and the Mahdī] will protect them from their enemies.”

I asked, “Syria will be conquered?” He replied, “Yes, very quickly. After it is conquered, fitnas15 will occur. Then, a dark, hazy fitna will arise and fitnas will come after fitnas until a person from my Ahl al-Bait emerges. He will be called the Mahdī. If you meet him, follow him and be one of the guided ones.”

365. Musnad Aḥmad16: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from `Abd al-Ṣamad, from Ḥammād b. Salama, from Muṭarrif al-Mu`allā, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq, from Abū Sa`īd that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said: “The earth will be filled with unfairness and injustice. Then, a man from my progeny will emerge and will rule for seven or nine [years]17. He will fill it with fairness and justice.”

After mentioning this tradition, al-Ḥākim says: “This tradition is correct (ṣaḥīḥ) according to the criteria of al-Muslim, but they [i.e. al-Bukhārī and al-Muslim] have not narrated it.”

366. Dhikr akhbāri Iṣbahān18: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Ja`far, from Aḥmad b. Ḥusayn al-Anṣārī, from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥafṣ, from his grandfather al-Ḥusayn, from `Akramat b. Ibrāhīm, from Maṭar al-Warrāq, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said:

The Hour will not be established (lā taqūm al-sā’a) until a person from my Ahl al-Bait comes to power, [he will have a] reaping, and an aquiline [nose]. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled earlier with unfairness. He will remain for seven years.”

In the end of times, a severe disaster shall descend on my umma from their rulers; a disaster with unprecedented severity, to the extent that they will be under pressure in the vast expanse of the earth and it will be filled with injustice and unfairness. A believer will not find a place to take refuge from oppression. Then, Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, will send a man from my progeny who will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it was filled with unfairness and injustice. The inhabitants of the skies and the residents of the earth will be satisfied with him.

The earth will not have stored anything from its seeds but that it will make it grow. The sky will not have accumulated anything of its rain-drops but that Allah will pour it on to them. He will live amongst them for seven, eight, or nine years. The living shall long for the dead [i.e. wish the dead were alive] for what Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, will do with the people of earth from His goodness.”

Al-Ḥākim says: This tradition has a correct chain of narrators (ṣaḥīḥ al-asnād), but they [i.e. Bukhārī and Muslim] have not recorded it.

368. Musnad Aḥmad20: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from `Abd al-Razzāq, from Ja`far, from al-Mu`allā b. Ziyād, from al-`Alā’ b. Bashīr, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, who informed that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said: “I give you glad-tidings about the Mahdī who will be sent to my umma when the people will be in disputes and disasters. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness. The inhabitants of the skies and the residents of the earth will be satisfied with him. He will distribute wealth correctly (ṣaḥāḥā).”

A person asked him: “What do you mean by correctly (ṣaḥāḥā)?” He replied: “He will distribute it equally amongst the people. Allah will fill the hearts of the umma of Muḥammad with needlessness and his justice will encompass them. He orders an announcer to call out, ‘Does anybody need wealth?’ No one from the people will respond except one man. He [i.e. the Mahdī] will ask him to go to the treasurer and say, ‘Mahdī orders you to give me wealth.’ He will respond, ‘Hold [your hands].’ After he takes [what has been given to him] to his house he will regret what he has done. He will say [to himself]: ‘Was I the greediest in the umma of Muḥammad or did I lack what they possessed?’ Thus, he will return what was given to him but they will not accept it. It will be said to him, ‘We don’t take back what we have given.’ This will continue for seven, eight, or nine years. Then, there will be no good in life after him.”

I say: He has narrated similar to this through another chain.

369. Firdaus al-akhbār21: From `Abd-Allah b. `Abbās, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “Mahdī is the peacock of the inhabitants of Paradise.”

370. Musnad Aḥmad22: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from Abū l-Naḍr, from Abū Mu`āwiya Shaibān, from Maṭar b. Ṭahmān, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said:

The Hour will not be established until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rules. He will have a wide [forehead] and an aquiline [nose]. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will have been filled before him with unfairness. He will remain for seven years.

371. Al-Mustadrak23: Narrated to us both al-Shaykh Abū Bakr b. Isḥāq `Alī b. Hamshādh al-`Adl and Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Bālawayh, from Bishr b. Mūsā al-Asadī, from Haudhat b. Khalīfa, from `Auf b. Abī Jamīla, from al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī al-Dārimī, from Muḥammad b. Isḥāq al-Imam, from Muḥammad b. Bashshār, from ibn `Adī, from `Auf, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “The Hour will not be established until the earth is filled with unfairness, injustice, and enmity. Then, a person from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge who will fill it with fairness and justice just as it will have been filled with unfairness and enmity.”

He [i.e. the author of al-Mustadrak] has said: “This tradition is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) based on the criteria set by Bukhārī and Muslim, but they have not recorded it . . .”

From al-Musnad: “Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from Muḥammad b. Ja`far, from `Auf, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:

The Hour will not be established until the earth is filled with unfairness and enmity. Then, a man will emerge from my progeny—or from my Ahl al-Bait—who will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and enmity.

372. Sharḥ al-akhbār24: From Abū Baṣīr, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah Ja`far b. Muḥammad, peace be on him, who said: “Verily, Islam began with loneliness (gharībā) and will soon become lonely just as it had begun, and salvation is for the lonely ones.” [This tradition is famous and has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. Numerous Shias and Sunnis have narrated it. (Imam) Ja`far b. Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq, peace be on him, has narrated it from him but I have not mentioned the chain of narrators which reach him.]25 Abū Baṣīr says: “I said to him, ‘Elaborate this for me, may I be sacrificed for you, O son of Allah’s Messenger!’ He, peace be on him, replied: “The caller (al-dā`ī) from us will renew the call just as the Messenger of Allah [may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family] had made [a new] call.”

The same applies to the Mahdī. He will give a renewed invitation to Allah when the [Islamic] customs are changed, innovations are increased, the imams of deviation will dominate, the imams of guidance—those whose obedience Allah has made obligatory upon the people—will seldom be mentioned.

Those whom He has appointed for calling towards Him and to point to Him through His signs. They will be forgotten and their news will be cut off [from the people] because the leaders of oppression will dominate the [Ahl al-Bait]. When Allah fulfills his promise to the Imams about the reappearance of their Mahdī, there will be a need [for the Mahdī] to give the [people] a renewed call just as the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, had called them in the very beginning [of his messengership].26

373. Ṣifat al-Mahdī27: From Ḥudhayfa, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “(May Allah have mercy) on this umma because of the oppressive rulers! It is amazing that they will kill and frighten those who obey them except those who excessively demonstrate their obedience for them! The God-fearing believers will pretend with their tongues to be their friends but will flee from them with their hearts. When Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, intends to return Islam to its might, He will destroy every tyrant; and He has the power to do what He wills and to reform the umma after its corruption.” Then, he said, “O Ḥudhayfa! If there not remains but one day from the world, Allah will prolong that day until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rules. He will lead bloody battles and Islam will be victorious. He (Allah) does not violate His promise and He is quick in calculating.”

374. Ṣifat al-Mahdī wa kitāb al-`awālī28: Through his chain of narrators from Abī-Salmat b. `Abd al-Raḥmān b. `Auf, from his father, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “Allah will certainly raise from my progeny a man whose front teeth are slightly apart from each other and who has a wide forehead. He will fill the earth with justice and bestow wealth generously.”

375. Sunan ibn Māja29: Narrated to us Uthmān b. Abī Shaiba, from Mu`āwiya b. Hishām, from `Alī ibn Ṣāliḥ, from Yazīd b. Ziyād, from Ibrāhīm, from `Alqama, from `Abd-Allah who said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], when some youths from Banī-Hāshim entered. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], saw them, his eyes became full of tears and his color changed. I said to him, ‘We are seeing on your face something that we dislike.’ He replied, ‘Surely, Allah has chosen for us Ahl al-Bait the Hereafter instead of this world. After me, my Ahl al-Bait will most certainly witness calamities, expulsions, and banishments, until a group of people come from the East who will carry black flags. They will ask for goodness but it won’t be given to them. They will fight and be victorious and then they will be given what they had asked for. They will not accept it until they hand it over to a man from my Ahl al-Bait (who) will fill the earth with fairness just as they [i.e. the people] will have filled it with injustice. Whoever encounters them must go to them even if he has to crawl on ice.’”

376. Al-Fitan30: Narrated to us al-Walīd, from `Alī ibn Ḥaushab, from Makḥūl, from `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, who said:

I asked the Messenger of Allah, “Is the Mahdī from us Imams of guidance or from others?” He replied, “He is from us. The religion will be sealed by us just as it began through us. By us, they will be freed from the deviations of mischief just as they were freed from the deviations of polytheism. Through us, Allah will unite their hearts in religion after the enmity of mischief, just as Allah united their hearts and their religion after the enmity of polytheism.”

377. Sunan ibn Māja31: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā, from Abū Dāwūd, and from Muḥammad b. `Abd al-Malik al-Wāsiṭī, from Yazīd b. Hārūn, and narrated to us `Alī ibn al-Mundhir, from Isḥāq b. Manṣūr, all of them from Qays, from Abū Ḥaṣīn, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Abū Huraira, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “If there remains only one day from the world, Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, will elongate it until a man from my Ahl al-Bait rules. He will conquer the mountain of Daylam and Constantinople (Istanbul).”

I say: In the marginal commentary of al-Sindī, his saying, “until a man will rule . . .” has been interpreted about the promised Mahdī.

378. `Iqd al-durar32: From Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “The Mahdī is from us Ahl al-Bait. [He is] a man from my umma who has a high nose. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice.”

Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim has also mentioned it in Ṣifat al-Mahdī.

379. Musnad Aḥmad33: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from `Abd al-Ṣamad, from Abān, from Sa`īd b. Zaid, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “After me, there will be a caliph who will distribute wealth generously and will not even count it [to see how much he is giving].”

380. Al-Bayān34: Abū Ṭāhir Ismā’īl b. Ẓafar b. Aḥmad al-Nāblusī, from Abū l-Makārim Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah b. al-Mu`addil, from Abū `Alī al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ḥaddād, from al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim Aḥmad b. `Abd-Allah, from Sa`d b. Muḥammad b. Isḥāq, from Muḥammad b. Yūsuf al-Turkī, from Kathīr b. Yaḥyā, from Abū `Awāna, from al-A`mash, from `Aṭiyya, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “After the passing of some time and the appearance of fitnas, a man will [come] who will be called the Mahdī. What he grants will be pleasant.”

[He said:] This tradition has been recorded by Abū Nu`aim al-Ḥāfiẓ like we have narrated it.

381. Mawaddat al-qurbā35: Ibn `Abbās, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “Surely, Allah granted victory to this religion through `Alī. When he is killed, religion will become corrupted and no one can reform it but the Mahdī.”

382. Mawaddat al-qurbā36: `Alī, [peace be on him], from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “The world will not be destroyed until a man from my umma rises who is from the progeny of al-Ḥusayn; he will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with unfairness.”

383. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim37: Narrated to us Zuhair b. Ḥarb, from `Abd al-Ṣamad b. `Abd al-Wārith, from his father, from Dāwūd, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd and Jābir b. `Abd-Allah, both of them from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “In the end of times, there will be a caliph who will divide wealth but will not count it.”

And narrated the same tradition to us, Abū Bakr b. Abū Shaiba, from Abū Mu`āwiya, from Dāwūd b. Abū Hind, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Messenger of Allah.

384. al-Fitan38: Narrated to us Abū Mu`āwiya, from Dāwūd, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “In the end of times, there will emerge a caliph who will grant wealth without counting it.”

385. Al-`Arf al-wardī39: Ibn Abū Shaiba has recorded from Abū Sa`īd that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “A person will emerge from my Ahl al-Bait after the passing of time and the appearance of fitnas; his grants will be abundant.”

386. Al-Musnad40: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from `Affān, from Ḥammād b. Salma, from `Alī b. Zaid, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “Verily, Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, will send in this umma a caliph who will give away wealth generously and will not count it.”

387. Al-Musnad41: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from Khalaf b. al-Walīd, from `Abbād b. `Abbād, from Mujālid, from Abū l-Waddāk who said to Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, “By Allah! No ruler rules over us but that he is more evil than the previous one, and not a year arrives but that it is more evil than the preceding year.” He replied, “If I had not heard something from the Messenger of Allah I too would have said like what you say. I heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, say, ‘From your rulers there will be a ruler who will give away wealth abundantly but will not count it. A person will come to him and ask him (for money). He will say, “Take.” The person will spread his dress and he will fill it.’ The Messenger of Allah spread a thick blanket which was covering him to show the act of the person [who asked], then he gathered all its sides. He said, ‘He will take it and then depart.’”

388. Al-Musnad42: [In a tradition from Abū Naḍra, from Jābir that] the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, said: “There will be a caliph in the last of my nation. He will give away wealth abundantly but will not count it.”

389. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim43: Narrated to us Naṣr b. `Alī al-Jahḍamī, from Bishr (i.e. ibn al-Mufaḍḍal) and narrated to us `Alī ibn Ḥajar al-Sa`dī, from Ismā’īl (i.e. b. `Ulayya), both of them from Sa`īd b. Yazīd, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “From your caliphs there is a caliph who will give away wealth abundantly but will not count it.”

390. Ṣifat al-Mahdī44: From Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “Most certainly, the earth will be filled with enmity; then, a person from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge who will fill it with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and enmity [injustice and unfairness].”

391. Musnad Abī Ya`lā45: Narrated to us Sulaimān b. `Abd al-Jabbār Abū Ayyūb Sahl b. `Āmir, from Fuḍail b. Marzūq, from `Aṭiyya, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “In the end of times, after the advance of ages and passing of time, there will be an Imam who will be the most generous of the people. A man will come to him and [the Imam] will put [wealth] in his dress. He will be concerned as to who will accept the charity of this wealth which is between him and his family as all the people will be flushed with goodness’s (and riches).”

392. Tārīkh ibn `asākir46: He has recorded through his chain of narrators, from ibn `Abbās that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, said: “How can a nation be destroyed when I am at its beginning, Jesus is at its end, and the Mahdī is in its middle?”

393. `Iqd al-durar47: From Anas b. Mālik, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said: “A nation will never be destroyed which I am at its beginning, its Mahdī is in the middle, and Christ—the son of Mary—is at its end.”

394. `Iqd al-durar48: From Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. `Alī, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], who said:

I give glad-tidings to you all! I give glad-tidings to you all! My nation is like rain. It is not clear whether its beginning is good or its end? Or like an orchard from which groups [of people] eat [fruit] for one year. Perhaps the last group [that eats from it] is the most widest and deepest49 and is better than all the others. How can a nation perish when I am at its beginning, the Mahdī is in its middle, and Christ is at its end? [Beware!], between all these will be crooked leaders; they are not from me and I am not from them.

Fāṭima came to her father, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], during his illness and said while crying, “O my father! I fear neglect/destruction (al-ḍay`a) after you!” He replied, “O Fāṭima! Verily Allah examined the earth thoroughly, then chose your father and sent him as a Messenger. He examined the earth a second time and chose your husband. He then ordered me to marry you to him and so, I married you to him. He was the greatest amongst Muslims in forbearance (ḥilm), the best of them in knowledge, and the first in [accepting] Islam.

Surely, Allah has granted seven characteristics to us Ahl al-Bait which He has not given to anyone from those [before us] and no one from those who will come [after us] will acquire them. Our Prophet is the best of prophets and he is your father; our successor (waṣiyyunā) is the best of successors and he is your husband; our martyr is the best of martyrs and he is your father’s uncle, Ḥamza; from us is the one who has two wings with which he will fly in paradise wherever he wishes, and he is Ja`far [al-Ṭayyār]; from us are the two grandsons of this nation and they are your two sons; and from us is the Mahdī of this nation.”

Abū Hārūn al-`Abdī says:

I met Wahb b. Munabba during the Hajj season and mentioned this tradition to him. He said, “When the tribe of Moses was tested and took the calf as god, a bitter situation was created for Moses. Allah said, ‘O Moses! The nations of all the Prophets before you were tested, and a great fitna will befall upon the nation of Aḥmad to an extent that some will curse others. Then, Allah will make right their affairs through a man from the progeny of Aḥmad, and he is the Mahdī.’”

396. Al-Istī`āb51: [Jābir al-Ṣadafī] narrates from the Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “After me, there will be caliphs. After the caliphs there will be rulers. After the rulers there will be kings. After the kings there will be tyrants and after the tyrants, a man will emerge from my Ahl al-Bait who will fill the earth with justice.”

This tradition has been narrated by ibn Lahī`a, from `Abd al-Raḥmān b. Qays b. Jābir al-Ṣadafī, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family.

If there remains only one day from the world, Allah will definitely send in it a person whose name is my name and whose morals are my morals. He will be called Abū `Abd-Allah. The people will pledge allegiance to him between the Rukn and the Maqām. Through him, Allah will bring back the religion and He will grant him victories. [Then,] no one will remain on the face of earth but that he will acknowledge that there is no god but Allah.

Salmān, may Allah be satisfied with him, stood up and asked: “O Messenger of Allah! From which one of your sons will he be?” He answered: “He will be from the descendants of this son of mine,” then patted (Imam) al-Ḥusayn’s back.

398. Al-Sunan al-wārida fī l-fitan53: Narrated to us Ḥamzat b. `Alī, from `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad, from Abū Khalīfa, from Musaddad, from ibn Shihāb, from `Aṣim, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Abū Huraira that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], said: “If there only remains one night from the world, Allah will make a person from my Ahl al-Bait rule in it.”

399. Firdaus al-akhbār54: From Jābir b. `Abd-Allah that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, said: “The Paradise yearns for four people from my family. Allah loves [these four] and has ordered me to love them: `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, al-Ḥasan, al-Ḥusayn, and the Mahdī—behind whom Jesus, the son of Maryam, will pray.”

400. Al-Mu`jam al-kabīr55: Narrated to us al-Ḥasan b. `Alī al-Ma`marī, from `Abd al-Ghaffār b. `Abd-Allah al-Mauṣilī, from `Alī b. Mus-hir, from Abū Isḥāq al-Shaibānī, from `Āṣim b. Abū l-Najūd, from Zirr b. Ḥubaish, from ibn Mas`ūd who recounts that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], said: “The days and the nights will not go away until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rules; his name will be my name.”

In another tradition, the following sentence has been added: “He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness.”

401. Al-Mu`jam al-kabīr56: Narrated to us Ma`ādh b. al-Muthannā, from Musaddad, from Abū Shihāb Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Kinānī, from `Aṣim b. Bahdala, from Zirr, from `Abd-Allah that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], said: “If there remains from the world but only one night, a person from the Ahl al-Bait of the Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], will rule in it.”

402. Al-Mu`jam al-kabīr57: Narrated to us Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Jammāl al-Iṣfahānī, from Ibrāhīm b. `Āmir b. Ibrāhīm, from his father, from Ya`qūb al-Qummī, from Sa`d b. al-Ḥusayn, from Abū Bakr b. `Ayyāsh, from `Aṣim b. Abī l-Najūd, from Zirr b. Ḥubaish, from `Abd-Allah b. Mas`ūd, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “The affairs of this nation—in the ends of its time—will be in the hands of a man from my Ahl al-Bait. His name will be my name.”

403. Al-`Arf al-wardī58: Abū Nu`aim and al-Ḥākim have both narrated from Abū Sa`īd that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], said:

The Mahdī will emerge in my nation. Allah will send him as a helper (ghiāsā) for the people. The nation will be blessed, livestock will feed, the earth will bring out its vegetation, and he will give away wealth correctly (ṣiḥāhā)59.

404. Al-Fitan60: Al-Walīd narrates from Abū Rāfi` Ismā’īl b. Rāfi`, from someone who narrated to him from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:

His nation will take refuge in him (i.e. the Mahdī) like the bees which take refuge in their king. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will it be filled with injustice. [This will continue] until the people return to their initial state, that is, they will not wake up a sleeping person and will not shed blood.

405. Kanz al-`ummāl61: “The Mahdī will emerge in the ends of my nation. Allah will send rain for him and the earth will bring out its vegetation. He will give away wealth correctly, livestock will increase, and the nation will be glorified. He will live for seven or eight years [as has been narrated by ibn Mas`ūd].

406. Dhikr akhbār Iṣbahān62: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. al-Faḍl b. Qadīd, from al-Ḥasan b. Yūsuf b. Sa`īd al-Miṣrī, from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā b. Maṭar al-Makhramī, from Dāwūd b. al-Muḥabbar, from Abū l-Muḥabbar b. Qaḥdham, from his father Qaḥdham b. Sulaimān, from Mu`āwiya b. Qurra, from his father that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said: “Most certainly, this earth will be filled with injustice and unfairness. When it is filled with injustice and unfairness, Allah will send a person from me whose name will be my name. He will fill it with fairness and justice just as it was filled with injustice and unfairness.”

A person came to (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, and said, “Surely you are the Ahl al-Bait of mercy. Allah, Blessed and High be He, has distinguished you with this [characteristic].” He, peace be on him, replied, “We are so, and all praise is for Allah. We don’t make anyone go astray nor do we bring anyone out of guidance. Surely, the world will not end until Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, sends a person from us Ahl al-Bait who will act in accordance with the Book of Allah. He will not see any evil in you but that he will denounce it.”

408. Al-Mu`jam al-ausaṭ64: From Ṭalḥat b. `Abd-Allah, from the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family] who said: “And soon, a fitna will occur. The unrest will not cease in one place except that it will start in another until an announcer from the sky will call out: ‘Surely, your leader is so and so.’”

I say: The ambiguity of this tradition because of it not explicitly stating the name of the Mahdī does not harm our purpose, because numerous traditions we quoted earlier and those that will be cited in the future explain this tradition and remove its ambiguity.

The author of Ibrāz al-wahm al-maknūn writes:

I have found a support for his tradition (i.e. the tradition of Ṭalḥa). Ibn Abī Shaiba states, “Narrated to us al-Ḥasan b. Mūsā, from Ḥammād b. Salma, from Abū Muḥammad, from `Aṣim b. `Amr al-Bajalī that Abū Umāma said, ‘The name of a person will surely be called out from the sky. It cannot be denied with any argument and no degraded person can prevent it.’”

(He then mentions another narration) as support, from `Alī, peace be on him, which, God willing, we will mention in the future).

409. Al-Fitan by Nu`aim b. Ḥammād65: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah b. Marwān, from al-`Alā b. `Utba, from al-Ḥasan that “The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], mentioned the hardships that will be encountered by his Ahl al-Bait [which will continue] until Allah raises a black flag from the East. Whoever helps it, Allah will help him, and whoever deserts it, Allah will desert him, until they come to a person whose name is my name. He will take over their affairs and Allah will assist and help him.”

410. Al-Fitan66: Narrated to us `Abd al-Razzāq, from Mu`ammar, from Qatāda that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said: “Soon, he will bring out the treasures, will distribute wealth, and will fully establish Islam.”

411. Kanz al-`ummāl67: From Sa`d al-Iskāf, from al-Aṣbagh b. Nubāta, who narrates: “`Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, delivered a lengthy sermon. He praised Allah and extolled Him then said:

Know that verily I and the good ones from my progeny and my Ahl al-Bait are the most knowledgeable of the people in childhood and the most forbearing of them in old age. With us is the flag of truth. Whoever goes ahead of it will be degraded, whoever stays behind will be destroyed, and whoever stays with it will have reached it. Surely we are the people of mercy and through us the doors of wisdom are opened. Our judgment is based on Allah’s Judgment and our knowledge is based on Allah’s Knowledge and to the sayings of an honest person we have listened.

If you follow us, you will be saved and if you turn away, Allah will punish you at our hands. By us, Allah has opened the noose of disgrace from your necks. By us—and not by you—Allah will end (binā yukhtam lā bikum). Through us the one who lags behind will reach and to us the one who has gone ahead will return . . . (He continued in another part,) by Allah! I was taught the interpretation of the messages, the fulfillment of the promises, and the completion of the words. Certainly, from those who succeed me from my Ahl al-Bait, there will be a person who will invite to Allah with strength and will judge with the laws of Allah. This will be after a hard and disgraceful era in which the hardships will be severe and hopes will be lost . . . (After mentioning some of the bloody battles, he continued,) know that surely from us is the one who will rise; his lineage will be pure and his companions will be leaders.

When the enemies of Allah are to be destroyed, he will be called out three times with his name and the name of his father in the month of Ramaḍān. This will be after turmoil, killings, miseries, lunacies, and the rise of calamities. I know that to whom the earth will extract its deposits and hand over its treasures.

If I wanted, I could have struck [the earth] with my foot and said, “Bring out from here helmets and armor” . . . Indeed, Allah will appoint a Caliph who will remain firm in guidance and will not accept bribes in his judgments. When he calls, he will be [heard] far and distant. [His calls] will be lethal for the hypocrites and will bring relief for the believers. Know that these will surely happen despite those who dislike them [happening]. All praise is for Allah the Lord of the worlds and His blessings be upon our master Muḥammad, the seal of the Prophets.

412. Al-Bayān wa l-tabyīn68: From Abū ‘Ubaida Mu`ammar b. al-Muthannā, from Ja`far b. Muḥammad, peace be on him, from his forefathers, peace be on them, from Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, who said:

Know that the good ones (al-abrār) from my progeny and the pure ones from my descendants, are the most forbearing of the people in childhood and the most knowledgeable of them in old age. Know that we Ahl al-Bait have learned knowledge from Allah’s knowledge. Our judgment is from Allah’s judgment and we have listened to the sayings of an honest person.

If you follow us, you will be guided with our insight but if you don’t do so, Allah will destroy you at our hands. We hold the flag of truth. Whoever follows it will reach [salvation] and whoever lags behind will perish. Know that through us every believer is protected from bad fate (binā taraddu dabaratu kullu mu’min), through us the noose of disgrace is removed from your neck, and through us gains are made. Allah will commence through us—not through you—and He will end by us, not by you.”

Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd says in his commentary: “His saying, ‘He will end by us, not by you,’ points towards the Mahdī who will appear in the end of times. Most narrators have the view that he will be from the progeny of Fāṭima, peace be on her. Our fellow Mu`tazilī companions do not deny this. They have clearly mentioned him in their books and their teachers have testified about him.”

413. Īḍāḥ al-ishkāl69: From Abū l-Za`rā’ who narrates that `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, used to say:

Verily I and the pure ones from my descendants and the good ones from my progeny are the most forbearing of people in childhood and the most knowledgeable of them in old age. By us Allah will invalidate falsehood; by us Allah will break the teeth of the rabid wolves; by us Allah will free you from disgrace and remove the noose of your necks. By us Allah will begin and He will end.

414. Sharḥ nahj al-balāgha by ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd70: The Chief of Justice (qāḍī al-quḍat), may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him, has narrated from Ismā’īl b. `Abbād—may Allah have mercy on him—through his chain of narrators which end at `Alī, peace be on him, that he mentioned the Mahdī and said: “He is from the progeny of al-Ḥusayn.” He then described his appearance: “A man with a wide forehead, aquiline nose, sturdy belly, long thighs, shining teeth, and on his left thigh is a mole.”

415. Al-Fitan71: Narrated to us al-Walīd and Rushdain, from ibn Lahī`a, from Isrā’īl b. `Abbād, from Maimūn al-Qaddāḥ, from Abū l-Ṭufail, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. One of the two narrated from `Alī, peace be on him, from the Holy Prophet; Ibn Lahī`a narrated from Abū Zur`a, from `Umar b. `Alī, from `Alī, peace be on him, from the Holy Prophet who said: “Religion will end through us just as it commenced with us and through us they will be freed from polytheism.”

One of the two narrated [it like this]: “. . . from deviation. And through us Allah will unite their hearts after the enmity of polytheism.”

Another narrated [it like this]: “. . . deviation and mischief . . .”

416. Al-Fitan72: Narrated to us al-Walīd, from Abū Lahī`a and informed us `Ayyāsh b. `Abbās, from ibn Zarīr, from `Alī, peace be on him, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “He is a man from my Ahl al-Bait.”

He has recorded it through another chain of narrators: Narrated to us ibn Wahb, from ibn Lahī`a, from al-Ḥarth b. Yazīd, from ibn Zarīr al-Ghāfiqī who heard `Alī, peace be on him, say: “He is from the progeny of the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family].”

417. Al-Fitan73: Narrated to us Abū Hārūn, from `Amr b. Qays al-Mulā’ī, from al-Minhāl b. `Amr, from Zirr b. Ḥubaish, from `Alī, peace be on him, who said: “The Mahdī is a man from us from the descendants of Fāṭima, may Allah be satisfied with her.”

418. Al-Fitan74: Narrated to us more than one person from ibn `Ayyāsh, from Sālim who said:

Najda wrote [a letter] to ibn `Abbās asking him about the Mahdī. He replied, “Surely, Allah the Exalted, has guided this umma through the first of this house and will free them through the last of them. During his [rule], goats which have horns and also those who don’t will not fight with each other.”

419. Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Ḥibbān75: From Umm Salma who recounts that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said about the Mahdī: “He will distribute among the Muslims their booty and will treat them in accordance with the customs (sunna) of their Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family]. He will fully establish Islam (yulqī al-islām bi jirānih ilā al-arḍ) throughout the earth. He will live for seven years.”

420. Kanz al-`ummāl76: (In a lengthy tradition from `Alī, peace be on him, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family):

O `Alī! Allah has commenced [Islam] by us and He will end it by us. By us He will destroy the idols and whoever worships them. By us He will crush every oppressor and every hypocrite to an extent that we will kill for rightness like the people who killed for falseness. O `Alī, this nation is like an orchard that a group of people will eat from for a year and another group will eat from it in another year. Perhaps, the last group [is like a tree] who has the firmest root, the most beautiful branch, and the sweetest fruit. They are the best and the most just and will possess the longest kingdom.”

421. Murūj al-dhahab77: It has been narrated that Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, said:

When Allah willed to destine creation and create the creatures and make the things [that He] made, He manifested the creatures in forms like dust particles, and this was before the spreading of the earth and the raising of the sky; while He was in the exclusivity of His Kingdom and Uniqueness of His Omnipotence (jabarūtih). Thereafter, He made ready a light from His Light so it shone and took a part from His Brightness and it radiated. Then, He put the Light in the middle of these hidden forms, and the form of our Prophet Muḥammad, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, approached it.

So, Allah the Almighty said, “You are the chosen one, the selected. With you is entrusted My light and the treasures of My guidance. Because of you, I level the desert, let the water flow, and raise the sky. [Because of you], I reward and punish and [created] the Heaven and Hell. I will appoint your Ahl al-Bait for guidance. I will bestow upon them from My unseen knowledge so that the most complex of issues will not be difficult for them and the hidden things will not make them incapable. I will appoint them as My proof upon My creation and as those who draw the attention [of the people] towards My Power and My Oneness.”

Then, Allah made them testify to [His] Lordship (al-rubūbiyya) and purely acknowledge [His] Oneness (al-waḥdāniyya). After this pledge, He blended the insight of his creations with the fact that he had selected Muḥammad and his family. He showed them that guidance is with him, the light belongs to him, and that leadership (al-imāma) is in his family . . . Then, His Throne (`arsh) became afloat on water, after which He spread the earth on the surface of water, and from the water, He extracted a smoke and made it the sky. Then, He summoned them both (i.e. the earth and the sky) towards His obedience and they submitted by responding [to His call].

Then, Allah made the angels with lights that He created and souls that he invented. Then, he accompanied with His Oneness (tauḥīd) the prophethood of Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], whom became popular in the skies before he was sent to earth. When Allah created Adam, He clarified his excellence for the angels and showed them why He had distinguished him on account of His prior knowledge, when He had taught him by informing him alone of the names of things. Thus, Allah appointed Adam as a prayer-niche (miḥrāb), a Ka`ba, a door (bāb), and a Qibla to whom the righteous (al-abrār) and the spiritual lights (al-rūḥānīīn al-anwār) prostrated.

Then, He made Adam aware of what He had put in him for safekeeping and manifested for him what He had kept in him as trust. And this was after He had named him as a leader (imām) in the presence of the angels . . . He called the people, overtly and covertly, and invited them, secretly as well as openly. He, peace be on him, drew the attention of the people to the covenant which He had ordered the particles to, prior to creation.

Whoever agreed with him and took from the lamp of Light that was offered to them, was guided to His secret and His clear affair became apparent for him. But, whoever was deceived by negligence, became eligible for [divine] wrath. Thereafter, the Light was transferred inside us and shone in our Imāms. Thus, we are the Lights of the sky and the Lights of the earth. Salvation is achieved through us and from us [comes out] the hidden knowledge. All affairs are destined to us. The proofs (al-ḥujaj) will end at our Mahdī who is the seal of the Imams and the one who will save the umma. [He is] the peak of illumination and the source of all affairs. We are the most superior of the creatures, the noblest of the monotheists, and the proofs of the Lord of the worlds. So, let him enjoy the bounties, he who fastens to our mastership (wilaya) and holds on to our rope.

This is what has been narrated from Abū `Abd-Allah Ja`far b. Muḥammad, from his father Muḥammad b. `Alī, from his father `Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn, from his father al-Ḥusayn, from Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, [peace be on them].

422. Nahj al-balāgha78: Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him, said in a sermon narrated by al-Sharīf al-Raḍī—may Allah be satisfied with him—on the authority of Nauf al-Bikālī who stated: “Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī, peace be on him, addressed to us this sermon at Kūfa while standing on a stone which Ja`da b. Hubayra al-Makhzūmī had placed for him. He was wearing a woolen cloak, his sword-belt was made of date-tree leaves, the sandals on his feet too were made of date-tree leaves, and His forehead was calloused [because of excess prostration].

Then, he, peace be on him, said79: ‘. . . he will be wearing the armor of wisdom—which he will have secured with all its conditions—such as full attention towards it, its (complete) knowledge, and exclusive devotion to it. For him, it is like a thing which he had lost and which he was then seeking, or a need which he was trying to fulfill. If Islam is in trouble, he will feel forlorn like a traveler and like a [tired] camel beating the end of its tail and with its neck flattened on the ground. He is the last of Allah’s Proofs and one of the vicegerents of His Prophets.’”

Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd says in his commentary on Nahj al-balāgha:

Every sect has interpreted this speech in accordance with their own beliefs. The Imāmī Shias believe that it refers to the awaited Mahdī they believe in . . . In my view, it is not improbable that the one intended by this sermon is the Qā’im from the progeny of Muḥammad, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, in the end of times.

423. Yanābī` al-mawadda80: From Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī, peace be on him, in a poem—that is not from his collection of poems:

Allah has a pearl, a brave Imam

Who will disgrace the polytheist warriors with his sword

He will manifest this religion in every region

And will defeat the polytheists

He will purify the earth from all corruption

And will disgrace every tyrant

He will spread justice in the East and the West

And will firmly establish Allah’s religion entrenched

. . .

I am not saying these out of pride

The chosen one from the Banī-Hāshim [i.e. the Prophet] has informed me.

It is then that the rightful Qā’im from amongst you [Ahl al-Bait] will rise

He will bring the truth and will act rightfully

He is the namesake of Allah’s Prophet; may my soul be sacrificed for him

Help him, O my son, and hasten in assisting him

426. Al-Durr al-munaẓẓam83: It has been narrated from Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, that: “The bearer of the flag of Muḥammad and the [owner] of the government of Aḥmad will emerge. He will rise with the sword and destruction. [He will be] truthful in speech and will reform the earth and bring to life the customs and the duties.”

427. Al-Muṣannaf84: Narrated to us Abū Mu`āwiya, from al-A`mash, from Ibrāhīm al-Taymī, from al-Ḥārith b. Suwayd, from `Alī, peace be on him, who said:

Islam will be degraded to the extent that even ‘Allah Allah’85 will not be uttered. When this happens, the leader of the religion (ya`sūb al-dīn) will come out with his followers. Then, a group will be dispatched that will gather around him like the clouds in autumn. By Allah! I certainly know the name of their chief and the resting-places of their horsemen.

428. `Iqd al-durar86: From Abū Wā’il who mentions that `Alī looked at al-Ḥusayn, peace be on them, and said:

This son of mine is a master (sayyid) just as the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], has named him. Soon, a person from his loin will emerge whose name will be the same as that of your Prophet. He will come when the people will be in a state of negligence, truth will be dead, and injustice will be evident. The inhabitants of the sky and its dwellers will rejoice at his reappearance. He will have a wide forehead, an aquiline nose, sturdy belly, and long thighs. There is a mole on his left thigh and his front teeth are slightly apart from each other. He will fill the earth with justice, just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice.

429. Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan87: He has narrated a lengthy tradition which is a debate between ibn `Abbās and Mu`āwiya, in which ibn `Abbās has refuted Mu`āwiya in the following manner:

As for what you said that “No one can possess both Caliphate and Prophethood [at the same time],” then what about the saying of Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, “Indeed, We have given the family of Ibrāhīm the Book and Wisdom, and We have given them a Great Kingdom.”88 The Book refers to Prophethood and Wisdom refers to sunna and Kingdom refers to Caliphate. We are the family of Ibrāhīm. The Command of Allah concerning them and us is one and the sunna is implemented amongst us and them.

As for your saying, “Your proof is ambiguous,” then I swear by Allah, it is brighter than the sun and more brilliant than the moon and you certainly know that yourself but you are a wretched person. We killed your brother, your grand-father, your paternal uncle, and your maternal uncle. So, don’t cry over decayed bones and souls being wasted in hell fire. Don’t be angry because of the blood that became legible for shedding because of polytheism and which has been degraded by Islam.

As for your saying, “We think that the government of the Mahdī belongs to us,” then know that the word ‘think’ is used to refer to ‘doubt’ in the book of Allah. Allah, Purified and High be He, says: “Those who disbelieve think that they will never be resurrected. Say: Yes! By my Lord, you will most certainly be resurrected . . .”89

Everyone testifies that we have a King who will be appointed by Allah even if nothing remains from the world but one day. Surely, we have a Mahdī that if nothing remains but a single day, Allah will send him [to fulfill] His commands. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness . . . (to the end of the tradition).

The tradition also speaks about the details of the descent of Jesus, peace be on him, and his praying behind Imam Mahdī, peace be on him.

430. Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan90: In the twenty-eighth chapter in which he has discusses the book of Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī called `Uyūn akhbār banī hāshim. He mentions ibn `Abbās’ debate with Mu`āwiya about the Mahdī in which ibn `Abbas says to Mu`āwiya

There is not a single clan from [the tribe] of Quraish who can boast about an affair except that there are other [clans] who [also] have a claim in that affair, except for Banī-Hāshim. For, they can take pride in Prophethood in which no one else was their partner nor was anyone equal with them in [their virtues].

This merit cannot be taken away from them. I swear that Allah, Blessed and High be He, did not appoint Muḥammad from the Quraish but because the Quraish were the best of creatures, and He did not appoint him from the Banī-Hāshim but because the Banī-Hāshim were the best amongst the Quraish, and He did not appoint him, from the progeny of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib but that they were the best of Banī-Hāshim.

We do not take pride over you except in what you take pride over the Arabs. This is the umma which is subject to Divine Mercy. To it belongs its Prophet and its Mahdī. The Mahdī is at its end because the affairs [of Islam] commenced with us and will end with us. Your kingdom is short and our kingdom will be long. Your kingdom is prior to our kingdom but there will be no kingdom after ours. We are the [pious] and the end is only for the pious.

Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī was sitting on the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], and crying and longing for him. I asked, “What has made you cry?” He replied, “I remembered the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], and his sitting on this pulpit while he was saying, ‘Surely, from my Ahl al-Bait is the one with an aquiline [nose] and a wide [forehead]. He will come when the earth will be filled with unfairness and injustice, and he will fill it with fairness and justice. He will live for this period.’ And he indicated seven or nine with his fingers.

432. Al-Iḥtijāj92: In a lengthy tradition which he has narrated through his chains of narrators from Saif b. `Umaira and Ṣāliḥ b. `Uqba, both from Qays b. Sam`ān, from Alqamat b. Muḥammad al-Ḥaḍramī, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, in his lengthy sermon at the Ghadīr of Khumm:

O People! The Light of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, is inside me, then in it will be in `Alī followed by his progeny until the Qā’im, the Mahdī, who will take back the rights of Allah and every right which belongs to us.

He then said many things about the Mastership (wilāya) of `Alī and the Imams after him, peace be on them, then continued:

O People! Verily, I am a Prophet and `Alī is my heir (waṣī). Know that the seal of the Imams, the Qā’im, the Mahdī, is from us. Know that surely he is the one who will dominate the religion. Know that surely he is the one who will take revenge from the oppressors. Know that surely he is the one who will conquer the forts and destroy them. Know that surely he is the one who will kill all polytheist tribes. Know that surely he is the one who will avenge the blood of all the friends of Allah (auliyā Allāh).

Know that surely he is the one who will help the religion of Allah. Know that surely he is the one who will take water from a deep ocean. Know that surely he is the one who will mark every person of merit with his merit and every person of ignorance with his ignorance. Know that surely he is the chosen and selected one by Allah. Know that surely he is the inheritor of all sciences and has full knowledge about them. Know that surely he informs about his Lord, Mighty and Majestic be He, and mentions the affair of His belief. Know that surely he is guided and firm.

Know that surely [the affairs] have been handed over to him. Know that surely he is the one about whom glad tidings have been given to those before him. Know that surely he is the surviving proof (ḥujja) and there is no proof (ḥujja) after him. There is no truth but that it is beside him and there is no light but that it is with him. Know that no one can overpower him and gain victory over him.

We were with `Alī, peace be on him, when a person asked him about the Mahdī. He replied, “It is far! It is far!” Then, he showed nine with his fingers and said, “This will happen in the end of times [in a time] that if it is said to a person, ‘Allah, Allah,’ [that person] will be killed. Then, Allah will gather a group for him like the gathering of clouds in autumn. He will unite their hearts and they will not fear anybody nor will they rejoice for anybody joining them. Their number will be equal to the warriors [of the battle] of Badr. The prior ones will not overtake them and the later ones will not reach them. Their number will be equal to the soldiers of Ṭālūt—those who crossed the river with him.”

Moses, peace be on him, looked in the first Exodus at what would be granted to the Qā’im from the family of Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], and pleaded, “O Lord! Make me the Qā’im from the family of Muḥammad.” It was said to him, “This [position] belongs to the seed of Aḥmad.” Then he looked in the second Exodus and saw the same things, and made the same request and got the same reply. Again, in the third Exodus, he saw the same things, made the same request and got the same reply.

435. Musnad Abī Ya`lā95: Narrated to us Abū Bakr b. Abū l-Naṣr, from Abū l-Naḍr, from al-Murjā b. Rajā’ al-Yashkurī, from `Īsā b. Hilāl, from Bushair b. Nuhaik, from Abū Huraira who said: “Narrated to me my friend, Abū l-Qāsim, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], that ‘the Hour will not be established until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rises against them. He will attack them until they return to the truth.’” I (i.e. Nuhaik) asked, “How many will they be?” He (i.e. Abū Huraira) replied, “five and two.” I enquired, “And what is five and two?” He replied, “I don’t know.”

436. Kanz al-`ummāl96: From `Adī b. Ḥātim, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “Indeed, the Hour will not be established until the white castle which is in Madā’in will be conquered, and the Hour will not be established until a woman in a howdah travels safely from Ḥijāz to Iraq without fearing anything. And the Hour will not be established until an Imam rules over the people who will give away wealth freely.”

437. Musnad Abī Ya`lā97: Narrated to us Sulaimān b. `Abd al-Jabbār Abū Ayyūb, from Sahl b. `Āmir, from Fuḍail b. Marzūq, from `Aṭiyya, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “In the end of times—after the advance of ages and passing of time—there will be an Imam who will be the most generous of the people. A man will come to him and [the Imam] will put [the wealth] in his dress. He will be concerned as to who will accept the charity of this wealth—which is between him and his family—as all the people will be flushed with welfare.”

438. Al-Fitan98: Narrated to us ibn Wahb, from ibn Lahī`a, from al-Ḥarth b. Yazīd, from `Abd-Allah b. Zarīr al-Ghāfiqī, from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, who said: “Trials are of four kinds: The trial of prosperity, the trial of distress, the trial of so and so . . . then, a person from the progeny of the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], will emerge. Allah will reform their affairs at his hands.”

439. Al-Sunan al-wārida fī l-fitan99: Narrated to us `Abd al-Raḥmān, from Qāsim, from Aḥmad b. Zuhair, from `Ammār al-Duhnī, from Sālim b. Abū l-Ja`d who said: “When we went for Hajj, I went to see `Abd-Allah b. `Amr al-`Āṣ. He asked me, ‘Where are you from?’ I replied, ‘From Iraq.’ He said, ‘Then be from the people of Kūfa.’ I replied, ‘I am from them.’ To which he answered, ‘They will be the most helpful to the Mahdī.’”

A group from my umma will always fight for the truth until Jesus, son of Mary, descends at the time of dawn at Bait al-Maqdas. He will come to the Mahdī and will be told, “Come forward O Prophet of Allah and lead our prayers.” He will reply, “Verily, some from this umma are trustees for others due to their honorable position with Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He.”

441. Al-Fitan101: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah b. Marwān, from al-`Alā’ b. `Utba, from al-Ḥasan that “the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], mentioned a hardship that will be afflicted on his Ahl al-Bait until Allah sends a black flag from the East. Whoever helps it, Allah will help him and whoever abandons it, Allah will abandon him, until a person comes whose name will be my name. Allah will make him in charge of their affairs and will assist him with His help.”

442. Al-Fitan102: Narrated to us Sa`īd Abū Uthmān, from Jābir, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, that “Black Flags that will rise from Khurāsān and will descend at Kūfa. When the Mahdī appears at Mecca, they will go to him to pledge allegiance.”

443. Al-Fitan103: Narrated to us al-Walīd and Rushdain, from ibn Lahī`a, from Abū Qubail, from Abū Rūmān, from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, who said: “The Sufyānī and the Black Flags will confront each other. Amongst the Black Flags there will be a youth from Banī-Hāshim who has a mole on his left hand. Guiding them will be a man from Banī Tamīm named Shu`ayb b. Ṣāliḥ. There will be intense bloodshed between these two armies. The Black Flags will be victorious and the horsemen of Sufyānī will take to their heels. It is then that the people will desire for the Mahdī and will seek him.”

444. Al-Fitan104: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah Abū `Abd-Allah al-Tayharti, from `Abd al-Raḥmān b. Ziyād b. An`um, from Muslim b. Yasār, from Sa`īd b. al-Musayyib, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “Black Flags belonging to the Banī `Abbās will emerge from the east. They will halt for a period that Allah wills. Then, smaller Black Flags will appear from the east who will fight against a man from the progeny of Abū Sufyān and his companions. They will advise [the people] to obey the Mahdī.”

Until Allah brings out for you one who will gather you together and unite you after your separation. Do not place expectations in one who does not come forward and do not lose hope in one who has turned back [from you], because it is possible that one of the two feet of the one who has turned back may have slipped while the other has remained firm and both [his feet] might return, until both are firm. Beware! The example of the family of Muḥammad, Allah’s blessings be on them, is like that of the stars in the sky. When one star sets another one rises. Allah has completed his obligations upon you and He has shown [or will show] you what you used to wish for.

O People! Be aware of a knowledge that is definite. What the Qā’im will encounter from your ignorance is like what the Messenger [of Allah] also encountered from your ignorance. That is, because on that day the entire umma will be engulfed in a state of ignorance except those upon whom Allah has mercy.

Do not hurry lest your demise hastens towards you; and know that lenience is a blessing and in forbearance is survival and comfort. The Imam is more knowledgeable regarding what they deny/don’t know. I swear by my life! He will uproot the evil judges from amongst you, he will remove the diseased from you, he will dismiss the tyrant rulers, and he will purify the earth of every deceiver.

Certainly, he will act amongst you with justice and stand amongst you with the straight weighing scale. Those living from you will desire the return of their dead ones even for a very brief period. It is then that they will enjoy life and this will surely happen. For the sake of Allah have patience, control your tongues, and live [peacefully] because soon deprivation will reach you. If you exercise patience, act in a calculated manner, and live in harmony, he will certainly seek the blood-revenge of your killed ones, avenge the murdered ones, and get back your rights. I swear by Allah a true oath,

“Surely Allah is with those who restrain themselves and those who do good” (Quran Surah Nahl 16:128).

447. Al-Durr al-manthūr107: He has recorded from ibn Mardawayh, from ibn `Abbās, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said: “The Companions of the Cave (aṣḥāb al-kahf) will assist the Mahdī.”

It has been mentioned in Tafsīr al-tha`labī, in the story about the companions of the cave—which has also been narrated from him in ‘Iqd al-durar, al-Burhān, al-`Umda, and al-Ṭarā’if—that: “They went to their sleeping places and will go to sleep until the end of times when the Mahdī, peace be on him, emerges.” He continues, “The Mahdī will salute them after which Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, will bring them back to life for him. Then, they will go to sleep again and will not wake up until the Day of Rising (al-Qiyāma).”

I was with Abū Ja`far al-Manṣūr [the Abbasid caliph] when he initiated the conversation: “O Saif b. `Umair! It is inevitable that a caller will call out from the sky the name of a person from the progeny of Abū Ṭālib.” I replied, “May I be given as ransom for you, O Amīr al-Mu’minīn! Are you narrating this?” He answered, “I swear by the One in whose hand is my life, Yes—for the listener who has ears.”

I said, “O Amīr al-Mu’minīn! I have never heard this tradition before.” He replied, “O Saif! This is the truth. And when this happens, we will be the ones who will be more worthy of responding to this call. The call will be to a person from the sons of our cousins.” I asked, “A person from the progeny of Fāṭima, peace be on her?” He answered, “Yes, O Saif! Had I not heard it from Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, I would not have accepted it even if all the people on earth had narrated it to me, but, he is Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him.”

Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, sent to His Prophet— Allah’s blessings be on him and his family—a manuscript before his death and said, “O Muḥammad! This manuscript is your will to the noble (al-najīb) one from your family.” He asked, “And who is the noble one from my progeny, O Jabra’īl?” He replied, “`Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib.” There were golden seals on the manuscript and the Prophet handed it over to `Alī, peace be on him, and advised him to break one of the seals and act according to what was in it. `Alī, peace be on him, broke a seal and acted upon its instructions.

Then he handed it over to his son al-Ḥasan, peace be on him, who broke a seal and acted upon its instructions. Then he handed it over to his son al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, who broke a seal and found written in it that, “Go with a group of people towards martyrdom, for, there is no martyrdom for them except with you and sell yourself to Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He.” And he did, then handed it to `Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn, who broke a seal and found in it, “Maintain silence, be confined to your house, and worship your Lord until certainty [i.e. death] comes to you” and he did accordingly.

Then, he handed it over to Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, who broke a seal and found in it, “Narrate/speak to the people and give verdicts. Do not fear anyone except Allah because no one can harm you.” Then he handed these to me. I broke a seal and found, “Narrate/speak to the people and give verdicts. Spread the knowledge of your Ahl al-Bait and confirm your righteous forefathers. Do not fear anyone except Allah for you are in protection and safety.” I acted according [to the instructions]. Then, I will pass it on to Mūsā b. Ja`far who will hand it over to the one after him. This will continue until the rise of the Mahdī, peace be on him.

450. Al-Amālī110: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Mūsā b. al-Mutawakkil, from Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah al-Kūfī, from Mūsā b. `Imrān al-Nakha`ī, from his uncle al-Ḥusayn b. Yazīd al-Naufalī, from `Alī ibn Sālim, from his father, from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī, from Sa`d al-Khaffāf, from al-Aṣbagh b. Nubāta, from `Abd-Allah b. `Abbās, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:

When I was taken to the seventh heaven and from there to the Lote Tree of the Boundary (sidrat al-muntahā) and from sidrat al-muntahā to the veils of light (ḥujub al-nūr), my Lord, majestic be His Majesty, called out to me, “O Muḥammad! You are my servant and I am your Lord. So, be humble before Me and only worship Me. Rely on Me and trust Me for I am satisfied with you as a servant, beloved, messenger, and prophet and [I am satisfied] with your brother, `Alī, as a successor and a door (khalīfatan wa bābā). He is My proof (ḥujjatī) upon My servants and a leader (Imām) for My creation.

Through him, My friends will be known from My enemies and through him, Satan’s party will be distinguished from My party. Through him, My religion will be established, My limits will be protected, and My regulations implemented. Through you, him, and the Imams from his progeny, I will have mercy on My male and female servants. And by the Qā’im from amongst you I will give life to My earth with My Tasbīḥ, Tahlīl, Taqdīs, Takbīr, and Tamjīd. Through him, I will clean the earth from My enemies and make My friends inherit it. Through him, I will degrade the word of the disbelievers and elevate My word.

Through him, I will enliven My servants and My cities with My knowledge. For him, I will reveal the treasures and the reserves with My will. I will disclose only to him the secrets and the hidden things by My intention (bi Irādatī). I will help him with My angels so that they may assist him in implementing My order and proclaiming My religion. He is surely My [appointed] guardian and truly the guided one from My servants.”

I said to Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, “By Allah! No year comes upon us but that it is worse than the previous one, and no ruler but that he is worse than the previous,” to which Abū Sa`īd answered, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, say what you are saying, but, I also heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, say, ‘This situation will not go away from you until amongst all the fitnas and injustices, someone is born who will not be recognized at that time. [This situation will continue] until The world becomes filled with injustice to the extent that no one will be able to utter: ‘Allah’.

Then, Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, will send a person from me and from my progeny. He will fill the earth with justice just as those before him will have filled it with unfairness. [Allah] will bring out its treasures112, and he will give away wealth freely and will not even count [what he is giving]. This will continue until Islam is fully established.’”

452. Ghaybat al-Shaykh113: Informed me a group from Abū Muḥammad Hārūn b. Mūsā al-Talla`ukbarī, from Abū `Alī al-Rāzī, from ibn Abū Dārim, from `Alī ibn al-`Abbās al-Sindī al-Muqāni`ī, from Muḥammad b. Hāshim al-Qaysī, from Sahl b. Tamām al-Baṣrī, from `Imrān al-Qattān, from Qatāda, from Abū Naḍra, from Jābir b. `Abd-Allah al-Anṣārī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “The Mahdī will emerge in the end of times.”

453. Ghaybat al-Shaykh114: From Muḥammad b. Isḥāq, from al-Muqāni`ī, from Bakkār b. Aḥmad, from al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥusayn, from Talīd, from Abū l-Jaḥḥāf, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “I give you glad tidings about the Mahdī,” and he repeated this statement three times. Then he said, “He will emerge when there will be disagreements amongst the people and intense hardships. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice. He will fill the hearts of Allah’s servants with worship and they will benefit from his justice.”

I heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, say [while he was] on the pulpit, “Verily, the Mahdī is from my progeny from my Ahl al-Bait. He will emerge in the end of times. The sky will pour down its raindrops for him and the earth will bring out its seeds for him. He will fill the earth with justice and fairness just as the people will have filled it with unfairness and injustice.”

455. Ghaybat al-Shaykh116: Muḥammad b. Isḥāq, from al-Muqāni`ī, from Ja`far b. Muḥammad al-Zuhrī, from Isḥāq b. Manṣūr, from Qays b. al-Rabī` and others, from `Āṣim, from Zirr, from `Abd-Allah b. Mas`ūd who recounts that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “The world will not come to an end until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rules my nation. He will be called the Mahdī.”

456. Ghaybat al-Shaykh117: Informed me a group from Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. Sufyān al-Bazaufarī, from Aḥmad b. Idrīs, from `Alī ibn Muḥammad b. Qutayba al-Naishābūrī, from al-Faḍl b. Shādhān, from Naṣr b. Muzāḥim, from Abū Lahī`a, from Abū Qubail, from `Abd-Allah b. `Amr b. al-`Āṣ, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said in a lengthy narration: “It is then that the Mahdī will emerge. He is from the descendants of this [man]—and he pointed towards `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him.

Through him, Allah will destroy falsehood (al-kadhib) and will conclude the era of hardship. Through him, the noose of disgrace will be removed from your necks.” Then, he declared, “I am the first of this nation, the Mahdī will be in the middle, and Jesus will be at the end. Between all this there will be a crooked old man.”

457. Al-Amālī by al-Ṣadūq118: Ibn al-Mutawakkil, from `Alī, from his father, from ibn Abū `Umair, from someone who heard (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, say the following line [of poetry]:

I was with the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, when a group of youth from Banī-Hāshim passed by whose faces were [shining like] lamps. [On seeing them], the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, started weeping. I said, “What has made you cry, O Messenger of Allah?”

He replied, “We are an Ahl al-Bait for whom, Allah has chosen the Hereafter over the world. Soon, my Ahl al-Bait will be killed, driven away, and displaced from the cities. [This will continue] until Allah makes ready for us a flag which will come from the East and whoever fights it will be defeated. Then, a person from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge whose name will be like my name and whose character will be like my character. My umma will go to him like birds returning to their nests. Then, he will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice.”

Similar traditions with various chains of narrators have also been reported on the authority of ibn Mas`ūd.

459. Dalā’il al-imāma120: Informed us Abū Ṭāhir `Abd-Allah b. Aḥmad al-Khāzin, from Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. `Umar b. Muḥammad b. Muslim b. al-Barā’ al-Ji`ābī, from Abū l-Ḥasan `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad b. al-`Abbās al-Rāzī al-Qummī, from his father, from (Imam) `Alī ibn Mūsā al-Riḍā, peace be on him, from his father (Imam) Mūsā b. Ja`far, peace be on him, from his father (Imam) Ja`far b. Muḥammad, peace be on him, from his father (Imam) Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, from his father (Imam) `Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, from his father (Imam) al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, from his brother (Imam) al-Ḥasan, peace be on him, from his father (Imam) `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, who said: “The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said to me, ‘The Hour will not be established until the true Qā’im rises.

This will occur when Allah, Mighty and Glorified be, permits him to do so. Whoever follows him will be saved and whoever doesn’t will perish. [Fear] Allah! [Fear] Allah! O servants of Allah! Go to him even if you have to crawl on ice because he is the Caliph of Allah (khalīfat Allah) and my successor (khalīfatī).”

460. Dalā’il al-imāma121: Through his chain of narrators [i.e. Abū l-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. Hārūn b. Mūsā from his father], from Abū `Alī al-Nahāwandī, from Isḥāq, from Yaḥyā b. Sulaim, from Hishām b. Ḥasan, from al-Mu`allā b. Abū l-Mu`allā, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “Rejoice at the good news of the Mahdī. Surely, he will come in the end of times amidst difficulties and hardships. Allah will make the earth prosperous for him with justice and fairness.”

461. Dalā’il al-imāma122: From him [i.e. Muḥammad b. Hārūn b. Mūsā], from his father Abū Muḥammad Hārūn b. Mūsā, from Abū `Alī al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-Nahāwandī, from Aḥmad b. Zuhair, from `Abd-Allah b. Dāhir al-Rāzī, from `Abd-Allah b. `Abd al-Quddūs, from al-A’mash, from `Āṣim b. Abū al-Najūd, from Zirr b. Ḥubaish, from `Abd-Allah b. Mas`ūd, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “The Hour will not be established until a person from my progeny rules. His name will be like my name. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice.”

462. Dalā’il al-imāma123: Informed us Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. Hārūn, from Abū Hārūn b. Mūsā, from Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, from `Īsā b. `Abd al-Raḥmān, from al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥusayn al-`Uranī, from Yaḥyā b. Ya`lā al-Aslamī, `Alī ibn al-Qāsim al-Kindī, and Yaḥyā b. al-Musāwir, from `Alī ibn al-Musāwir, from `Alī ibn al-Ḥazawwar, from al-Aṣbagh b. al-Nubāta, (in a tradition from Imam `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, which he said at the end): “And the Mahdī will be from us in the end of times. In all the nations, there will be no other awaited Mahdī other than him.”

Allah, the Exalted, will bring forth in this nation a person who is from me and I am from him. Through him, Allah, the Exalted, will bring forth the blessings of the skies and the earth. The sky will pour its raindrops, the earth will bring out its seeds, and its beasts and wild animals will be protected. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice. He will kill to the extent that the ignorant will say, ‘Had he been from the seed of Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, he would have been merciful.’

464. Al-Kāfī125: Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā, from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, from Muḥammad b. Sinān, from Abān, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah (al-Ṣādiq), peace be on him, who said: “The world will not come to an end until a person from me appears. He will judge using the judgment of the family of [the prophet] David, peace be on him, and will not ask for any testimony. He will give everybody their rights.”

465. Al-Irshād126: Abū l-Qāsim; Ja`far b. Muḥammad, from Muḥammad b. Ya`qūb, from `Alī ibn Ibrāhīm b. Hāshim, from his father; and `Alī ibn Muḥammad al-Qāsānī, all of them from Zakariyyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Nu`mān al-Baṣrī who said: “I heard `Alī ibn Ja`far b. Muḥammad say to al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī ibn Ḥusayn, ‘Allah helped Abū l-Ḥasan al-Riḍā, peace be on him, when his brothers and uncles rebelled against him.” (He then mentions a lengthy tradition which ends with his saying:) ‘And I stood up and held Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. `Alī al-Riḍā’s hand and said to him, “I testify that you are my Imam [when I stand] before Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He.”

On witnessing this, (Imam) al-Riḍā, peace be on him, wept and said, “O uncle! Didn’t you hear my father say, ‘The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, declared, “May my father be sacrificed for the son of the pure, the best lady from the city of Nūbiyya127! From his [i.e. Imam Riḍā’s] descendants will be the driven-away (al-ṭarīd), the wanderer (al-sharīd), whose father and grandfather have been killed but not avenged. He will go in occultation until it is said, ‘He has died or he has perished or which valley has he entered?’”’” I replied, “You are speaking the truth, may I be sacrificed for you!”’

466. Nafas al-mahmūm128: From al-Kāmil by Shaykh al-Bahā’ī, from (Imam) `Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn Zain al-`Ābidīn, peace be on him, in his famous sermon delivered at Damascus:

Allah, the Exalted, bestowed upon us forbearance, knowledge, bravery, and generosity and [put our] love in the hearts of the believers. From us is the Messenger of Allah, his successor, the Master of the Martyrs, and Ja`far al-Ṭayyār (the flying one) in Paradise, the two grandsons of this umma [i.e. Ḥasan and Ḥusayn], and the Mahdī, who will kill the Dajjāl.

I was with al-Zuhrī at al-Ruṣāfa when he heard the sound of people making fun. He said to me, “O Walīd! See what it is?” I peeped out a window of his house and said, “It is the head of Zaid b. `Alī!!” He sat up and said, “The people of this house who hurried have been killed.” I asked him, “Will they not rule?” He answered, “Narrated to me `Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn, from his father, from Fāṭima, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, informed her, ‘The Mahdī is from your descendants.’”

468. Al-Amālī (known as al-Amālī al-khamīsiyya)130: In a tradition that he has recorded through his chain of narrators from `Alī, peace be on him:

By the One Who split the grain and created the wind! If only one day remains from the world, Allah will prolong that day until a man from me rules the earth. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness . . . I swear by the One Who split the grain and created the wind, if no one remains from them (i.e. the Banī Umayya) except one man, he will indeed rebel with evil against the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He.

From us are seven people whom Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, has created and has not created like them on earth. From us is the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, the master of the first and the last and the seal of the Prophets. His heir (waṣī) is the best of heirs, his grandsons are the best of grandsons—Ḥasan and Ḥusayn. The Master of the Martyrs (sayyid al-shuhadā), Ḥamza, is his uncle. [And the two others are] Ja`far, the one who turns [or flies] with the angels, and the Qā’im.

470. Kāmil al-ziyārāt132: Through his previous chains of narrators, from Abū l-Qāsim Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Qūlawayh, from a group of his teachers which include: his father, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, and `Alī ibn al-Ḥusayn, [all of them] from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah b. Abū Khalaf, from Muḥammad b. `Īsā b. `Ubaid al-Yaqṭīnī, from Abū `Abd-Allah Zakariyyā al-Mu’min, from ibn Muskān, from Zaid—the slave of ibn Hubayra—from (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:

Fasten to the waist-belt of this anza`133, for surely, he is the greatest truthful person (al-ṣiddīq al-akbar) and the guide for those who follow him. Whoever precedes him has gone ahead of religion. Whoever deserts him, Allah will destroy him. Whoever holds fast to him has held fast to the rope of Allah. Whoever accepts his guardianship (wilaya) will be guided by Allah, and whoever rejects his guardianship (wilaya), will be misled by Allah.

From him are the two grandsons of this nation, who are my two sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn. From the descendants of al-Ḥusayn are the guiding Imams and the Qā’im, the Mahdī. Love them and accept their guardianship. Don’t take their enemy as an ally instead of them, in that case you will be worthy of the wrath of your Lord and a disgrace in this world, and indeed, whoever has forged a lie will be disappointed.

471. Mukhtaṣar baṣā’ir al-darajāt134: Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Abū l-Khaṭṭāb and Ya`qūb b. Yazīd, from Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Maithamī, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn, from Abān b. Uthmān, from Mūsā al-Ḥannāṭ, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah (al-Ṣādiq), peace be on him, who said: “The Days of Allah (ayyām Allāh) are three: the day when the Qā’im rises, the Day of Returning (yaum al-karra) 135 and the Day of Judgment (qiyāma).”

When Allah gathers the first and the last [i.e. all the people], the best of the people will be seven and all of them will be from the descendants of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib. Your Prophet will be called the best of the Prophets, [and he is] from the descendants of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib. The heir (waṣī) of your Prophet, is the master of the heirs (sayyid al-auṣiyā) [and he is] from the descendants of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib. Al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, the two masters of the youth of paradise, are from the descendants of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib. Ḥamza, the Master of the Martyrs, is from the descendants of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib. Ja`far, who has two wings, is from the descendants of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib. And the Mahdī who will emerge in the end of times, is from the descendants of `Abd al-Muṭṭalib. This is a generosity from Allah, the like of which has not been granted to anyone from the first ones and the last ones.”

473. Sunan Abī Dāwūd137: Hārūn narrates from `Amr b. Abī Qays, from Muṭarrif b. Ṭarīf, from al-Ḥasan, from Hilāl b. `Amr, from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “A person from Mā Warā’ al-Nahr will emerge who will be called al-Ḥārith b. Ḥarrāth. His army will be led by a person called Manṣūr. He will strengthen the family of Muḥammad, just like the Quraish who strengthened the Messenger of Allah. It will be obligatory upon every believer to help him.”

474. Uyūn akhbār al-Riḍā138: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Yūsuf al-Baghdadi, from al-Ḥusayn b. Aḥmad b. al-Faḍl—the Imam of the Jāmi` Mosque of Ahwāz—from Bakr b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Qaṣrī, the slave of al-Khalīl al-Maḥlamī, from al-Ḥasan b. `Alī ibn Muḥammad b. `Alī ibn Mūsā, from `Alī ibn Mūsā, from his father (Imam) Mūsā b. Ja`far b. Muḥammad who said: “The Qā’im will not be but an Imam, the son of an Imam, and a heir (waṣī), the son of a heir (waṣī).”

475. Al-Khiṣāl139: Through his chain of narrators from `Alī, peace be on him, in the tradition mentioning seventy of his excellences in which none of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, matched him, he said:

As for the fifty third [excellence], then surely Allah will not end the world until the Qā’im from us rises. He will kill those who hate us, he will not accept the non-Muslim tax (jizya), he will break the cross and the idols. War will end and he will invite [people to come and] take wealth and he will distribute it equally, and will deal justly with the people.

476. Sharḥ al-akhbār140: From Mujāhid (without mentioning the chain of narrators): “. . . then the Qā’im from the family of Muḥammad will be sent to punish them. The people will regard him weak [but] Allah will grant him victory over the easts and the wests of the world. Be aware! They are the true believers. Be aware! The finest jihad is at the end of times.”

477. Sharḥ al-akhbār141: From the narration of ibn Salām, through his chain of narrators from Amīr al-Mu’minīn (`Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib), peace be on him, who said:

Tests are of three kinds: The test during a good and enjoyable life, the test during hardships, and the test in which the people will be cleaned like the cleaning of the gold extracted from the mines. This will continue until a man emerges from us—the progeny of the Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family—and then Allah will set right their affairs.

478. Sharḥ al-akhbār142: `Abd-Allah b. Jabala, narrates through his chain of narrators from `Alī, peace be on him, that: “Islam will depart from the people like a camel which runs away from rain. Allah will not return it except by a person from us.”

479. Sharḥ al-akhbār143: In another tradition from `Alī, peace be on him, who said: “As if I am seeing your religion fleeing from you. Nothing from it will remain with you until Allah returns it to you by a person from us.”

480. Sharḥ al-akhbār144: From the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, whom mentioned the Mahdī and said: “Whoever sees him, should obey/follow him even if he has to crawl on ice—or fire—for surely he is Allah’s Caliph on earth.”

4. Sunan al-Tirmidhī, vol. 4, p. 505, Kitāb al-fitan, chap. 52, no. 2231; Tuḥfat al-aḥwadhī, vol. 5, p. 179; al-`Arf al-wardī, p. 126; al-Idhā’a, p. 115; Jāmi` al-uṣūl, chap. 1, vol. 11, p. 49, no. 7810; Iqd al-durar, pp. 2 & 28; Mahdī āl al-Rasūl, p. 19. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Ṣiddīq says in his book Ibrāz al-wahm al-maknūn: “As for the tradition of Abū-Huraira, indeed it has been narrated from him through various chains . . . He mentions the names of those as follows: Aḥmad, ibn Abī Shaiba, ibn Māja, al-Ṭabarānī, al-Bazzār, Abū Ya`lā, al-Ḥākim, Abū-Nu`aim in al-Ḥilya, al-Dāraqutnī in al-Ifrād, al-Daylamī in Musnad al-firdaus, Abd al-Jabbār al-Khaulānī in Tārīkh dāriyā, ibn `Asākir in Tārīkh dimashq, al-Bayhaqī in Shu’ab al-īmān, al-Khaṭīb in al-Muttafiq wa l-muftariq, etc.; Bayna yaday al-Sā’a, p. 114.
I say: Apparently, this tradition has a second part, perhaps something like his saying: “A person from my Ahl al-Bait, his name will be my name,” or something similar. He has not mentioned it completely because he has mentioned the tradition after that of `Āṣim from Zirr from `Abd-Allah, and has thought both of them are the same tradition. Surely, his saying: “If there remains only one day from the world, Allah will prolong that day until . . .” was at the beginning of the first tradition or under it. Its contents are not unknown due to the repetition of these two traditions. The chain of one of them ends at ibn Mas`ūd and the other at Abū Huraira.

10. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 2, Kitāb bad’ al-khalq, chap. “Nuzūl `Īsā b. Maryam”; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 1, chap. “Nuzūl `Īsā”; al-Sunan al-wārida fī l-fitan, vol. 6, chap. “Mā jā’a fī nuzūl īsā,” no. 2; Firdaus al-akhbār, vol. 3, no. 4916; Nūr al-abṣār, chap. 2, p. 154; al-Bayān (Syria: Manshūrāt Mu’assisat al-Hādī), chap. 7, p. 112, through his chain of narrators from Nāfi` and he said: “This tradition is correct (ṣaḥīḥ) with a consensus on its correctness from the tradition of Muḥammad b. Shihāb al-Zuhrī; Yanābī` al-mawadda, p. 432; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 438; Maṭālib al-su’ūl, vol. 2, chap. 12, citing al-Baghawī’s Sharḥ al-sunna; Sharḥ al-maqāṣid, vol. 1, p. 308; al-Fuṣūl al-muhimma, sec. 12, p. 294; al-Burhān, chap. 9, p. 158, no. 4; al-`Umda, sect. on “What has been narrated about the Mahdī from the texts of the Ṣiḥāḥ al-sitta, citing al-Jam` bayn al-Ṣaḥīḥain and al-Jam` bayn al-ṣiḥāḥ al-sitta; Jāmi` al-uṣūl, vol. 11, chap. 1, no. 7808.
I say: There is no doubt that the Imam mentioned in this tradition is the Mahdī—the caliph of Allah. Therefore, it has been mentioned in Jāmi` al-uṣūl in the chapter of “al-Masīḥ wa l-Mahdī,” in Ibn Ṭalḥa al-Shāfi`ī’s Maṭālib al-Su’ūl, ibn Ṣabbāgh al-Mālikī’s al-Fuṣūl al-muhimma under “The Traditions About the Mahdī,” al-Muttaqī al-Hindī’s al-Burhān in the ninth chapter about “The gathering of the Mahdī With Jesus,” and al-Muqaddisī al-Shāfi`ī’s `Iqd al-durar in the tenth chapter. It has been written in Ghāyat al-ma’mūl sharḥ al-tāj al-jāmi` lil-uṣūl: “It has already been mentioned that the Caliph in whose era Jesus, peace be on him, will descend, is the Mahdī, may Allah be satisfied with him.”
Some traditions explain others, therefore, no attention must be paid to the opinion of those who follow their internal desires and view themselves knowledgeable and civilized by rejecting the traditions about the Mahdī, al-Dajjāl, the life of Jesus and his descent in the end of times, and also by refuting the miracles mentioned in the Holy Quran with the help of absurd and false justifications. They say: “The traditions about the Mahdī, peace be on him, have not been recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs (of Bukhārī and Muslim).” As a result, those who have no experience and knowledge about traditions, think that the traditions that have reached us which are about the Mahdī, peace be on him—the person who will rise in the end of times and will rule the earth, and whom Jesus, peace be on him, will pray behind him, etc.—are merely speaking of a title (that can be given to anybody). Thus, they think that the belief of Mahdawiyya—on which the umma has consensus—revolves only around granting a name or bestowing a title on this promised person as the Mahdī. Hence, they say that: “this subject has not been mentioned in the Ṣaḥīḥain.” They did not understand that the belief about this promised person, who will rise in the end of times to give life to religion, destroy falsehood, establish justice, and eradicate oppression, is a belief based on a consensus (amongst the Muslims).
As for his titles, attributes, reformatory actions, etc., although there is no source for these except narrations, there is no need for each narration to comprise of all of these. Such is the case in everything explained by the sharia, whether it be the principles of religion or the divine laws. The belief that whatever is not recorded in the Ṣaḥīḥain should not be relied upon is another act of defiance that has been unanimously rejected by the scholars of ḥadīth (muḥaddithīn). The doors of legal interpretation (al-ijtihād) are still vast open. No verse in the Holy Quran and no tradition states that what has not been recorded in the Ṣaḥīḥain is incorrect, just as no verse in the Holy Quran or tradition exists that testifies that whatever has been recorded in them is absolutely correct and reliable.
We will soon reject such beliefs by quoting what the author of Ibrāz al-wahm al-maknūn has said under the tradition: “In the end of times there will be a caliph who will distribute wealth without counting it.” Refer to tradition no. 383.

I say: From what can be judged from other traditions, perhaps his saying: “Allah will straighten out his [affairs] in one night,” points to the unknown time of his reappearance. Thus, Allah will prepare the grounds of his government and rule in only one night after which he will reappear.

14. The words in the square brackets are mentioned in Majma` al-zawā’id and Kanz al-`ummāl.

15. Fitna usually refers to social unrest or rebellion, especially against a ruler—Ed.

16. Al-Musnad, vol. 3, p. 328; al-Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 558; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 1, p. 16, which mentions: “Then a person from my progeny will emerge. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice. He will rule for seven or nine years.” (The author of `Iqd al-durar) says: “Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū-Nu`aim has recorded it like this in Ṣifāt al-Mahdī. Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī has also recorded it but with a little difference: “A person from my progeny will rule for nine or seven years, then, he will fill it with fairness and justice.”

17. The words sab` (seven) and tis` (nine) in the ancient Arabic Kūfī handwriting were displayed using the same word. When the scribes copied these narrations and wrote them down in Arabic, they used both words ‘nine’ and ‘seven’ because they didn’t know to what number the original word referred to. The uncertainty in the numbers originated from the scribes’ stringent attitude in correctly transmitting the narrations from one book to another—Ed.

22. Al-Musnad, vol. 3, p. 17; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 3, p. 35. He says: “It has been recorded by al-Imam Aḥmad in his Musnad and by al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū `Abd-Allah Nu`aim b. Ḥammād in Kitāb al-fitan.
I say: I did not find it in al-Fitan, although, he has narrated it in a scattered form in the chapter of Sīrat al-Mahdī wa ṣifatih wa nasabih wa qadr mā yamlik; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 270, no. 38690, with the difference: “He will rule the earth” and “it will be filled with unfairness”; al-Dur al-manthūr, vol. 6, p. 57

28. `Iqd al-durar, chap.1, p. 16. He says: “al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū-Nu`aim has recorded it in Awālī and in Ṣifat al-Mahdī.” Also chap. 3, p. 34 and chap. 8, p. 170; al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, chap. 19, p. 139, no. 1, with the difference: “he will fill the earth with fairness and justice.” He says: “al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū-Nu`aim has recorded it in al-`Awālī exclusively from Ṭālūt b. Abbād, who is famous with us for his narrations; Yanābī` al-mawadda, p. 423 from Jawāhir al-`iqdain; Is`āf al-rāghibīn, sect. 2, p. 135.

30. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 198; al-Bayān, sect. 11, p. 125 with the difference: “I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Is the Mahdī from us—the progeny of Muḥammad—or from other than us?’ The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], replied, ‘No, he is from us. Through us Allah will end the religion just as He began it through us. Through us they will be freed from the fitnas.’” He also said, “Like He has united by us,” and “in their religion” has not been mentioned. He also said: “I say, ‘This is indeed a good (ḥasan) and great (`ālin) tradition which has been recorded by the narrators in their books. Al-Ṭabarānī has recorded it in al-Mu’jam al-ausaṭ, Abū Nu`aim has narrated it in Ḥilyat al-auliyā, and Abd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Ḥātim has mentioned it in `Awālī just as we too have recorded it.
Majma` al-zawā’id, vol. 7, p. 316; Al-Ṣawā’iq al-muḥriqa, p. 161, under the twelfth verse. He says: “Mahdī is from us; through us Allah will seal the religion just as He has commenced it through us”; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 1, pp. 24 & 142; Al-Mu`jam al-ṣaghīr, vol.1 p. 137; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 129; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 598, no. 38682; `Abaqāt al-anwār, vol. 2, p. 68, no. 12, who cites Nu`aim in al-Fitan; al-Ṭabarānī in al-Mu`jam al-ausaṭ, Abū-Nu`aim in Kitāb al-Mahdī, and al-Khaṭīb in al-Talkhīṣ; Yanābī` al-mawadda, p. 491; Nūr al-abṣār, chap. 2, p. 155; al-Burhān, p. 91, no. 7.

37. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185; Tārīkh ibn `Asākir, vol. 1, p. 186; al-Sunan al-wārida fī l-fitan, vol. 5, chap. “What has been narrated about the Mahdī,” no. 23, through his chain of narrators which are connected until they reach Jābir and its wordings are: “In the last of my umma, there will be a caliph; he will give away wealth profusely and will not even count it”; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 264, no. 38660; Maṣābīḥ al-sunna, vol. 2, p. 192, chap. “Ashrāṭ al-sā`a”; al-Bayān, chap. 10, pp. 122–123, no. 3; Yanābī` al-mawadda, pp. 182 & 230, from Jābir; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 8, p. 161; Is`āf al-rāghibīn, chap. 2, p. 135; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 131; Mishkāt al-maṣābīḥ, vol. 3, book 27, no. (5) 5441.
The author of Ibrāz al-wahm al-maknūn (pp. 513–514)—in reply to those who criticize this tradition on the bases that there is no mention of the Mahdī in it and there is no argument to show that it refers to him—writes: “The text of these traditions are ambiguous whilst the method for recognizing [the Mahdī] is obvious and established . . .”
I say: There is no doubt that some traditions explain other traditions. Also, there is no doubt that the person about whom glad-tidings have been given in the traditions, who will fill the earth with justice and fairness, will give away wealth profusely, and he who has signs, symbols, attributes and titles that are known in the traditions that have been narrated in numerous chapters, is only one person, not many. Hence, no one has thought it to be anyone other than the Mahdī or thought that Jesus, peace be on him, will perform prayers behind someone else. All these quotes point to his magnificent character.

43. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 266, no. 38672; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 8, p. 161; al-Tāj al-jāmi` lil-uṣūl, vol. 5, p. 341 (The Seventh chapter about the caliph, al-Mahdī).
The author of Ghāyat al-ma’mūl (a commentary on al-Tāj al-jāmi`), says: “According to the traditions that will be mentioned, this is the Mahdī, may Allah be pleased with him. This act of his is because of the abundance of war booties and victories along with his generosity and his giving away goodness to all the people.”

46. Tārīkh ibn `Asākir (1329 H.), vol. 2, p. 62; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 269, no. 38682, with a slight difference and p. 266, no. 38671; Muntakhab kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 6, pp. 30–31; al-Sīrat al-Ḥalabiyya (Egypt: Maṭba`atu Muṣṭafā Muḥammad), vol. 1, p. 227; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 134; al-Taṣrīḥ bi mā tawātara fī nuzūl al-Masīḥ, p. 181, no. 27. He says: “Al-Nisā’ī has narrated it and so has Abū Nu`aim in Akhbār al-Mahdī. Al-Ḥākim and ibn `Asākir have narrated it in their Tārīkh with the following wordings: “How can a nation that I am at its beginning be destroyed . . .,” which is like [what has been narrated] in Kanz al-`ummāl. This is a good (ḥasan) tradition as has been stated in al-`Azīzī’s al-Sirāj al-munīr.
He writes under it: “‘middle’ means ‘before the last’ because Jesus will descend to kill the Dajjāl during the era of the Mahdī. Our master Jesus will pray behind him just as it has been mentioned in the traditions.”
Al-Taysīr bi sharḥ al-jāmi` al-ṣaghīr, vol. 2, p. 302; Faiḍ al-qadīr, vol. 5, p. 301; al-Sirāj al-munīr, vol. 3, p. 196; al-`Arāyis (Maṭba’atu `Āṭif Wa Wuldih), p. 227, through his chain of narrators from ibn `Abbās with the difference: “Al-Mahdī from my Ahl al-Bait is in the middle”; al-Jāmi` al-ṣaghīr, vol. 2, p. 128 (under the letter Lām); `Iqd al-durar, chap. 7, p. 146. He says: “Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal has also recorded it in his Musnad and Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim has narrated it in his `Awālī.
I say: I did not find it in the published edition of Musnad Aḥmad although it is apparent that the tradition was recorded in the copy he possessed. We can only rely on a copy in which the tradition has been recorded; Tafsīr Rūḥ al-jinān, vol. 3, p. 158. He has narrated it from al-Manṣūr, from his ancestors, from ibn Abbas, who said: “The Mahdī from my Ahl al-Bait is in its middle.” Abū l-Futūḥ—the author of Rūḥ al-jinān—has used this tradition to prove the existence of the Mahdī, peace be on him, because it will not be correct if it is said that “The Mahdī will exist in the end of times prior to the descent of Jesus. Such an interpretation would make it necessary for the Mahdī not to exist in the long period of time between the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, and the descent of Jesus, whilst glad-tidings have been given that he will be in the middle of these two.
I say: Yes, the umma is unanimous that Jesus, peace be on him, will descend at the time of the reappearance of the Mahdī, peace be on him, and during his universal government. Jesus will pray behind him and assist him in achieving reformist goals, spreading justice, and destroying unfairness, which has been clearly elaborated in mutawātir traditions. Therefore, the belief that the Mahdī will be between them will not hold true for anyone except the one who has been mentioned in the Shia belief. Because the Mahdī was born in 255 AH and continues to live and is sustained by Allah until he reappears by the command of Allah, the Exalted, for the announcement of His Word.
The middle is understood by some commentators to show that the appearance of the Mahdī, peace be on him, will be before the descent of Jesus. This is definitely not the meaning of the tradition and here the middle and end have the same meaning.
Some sycophants—who were the servants and on the pay-roll of the arrogant and devilish rulers—thought that this tradition referred to the Mahdī who was one of the Abbasid caliphs. No explanation is needed to show the wrongness of this view. Such innovations are actually an insult to the lofty stature of the Seal of the Prophets, Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, and the great personality of the Prophet Jesus, and the divine successor-ship of Imam Mahdī, peace be on him. Moreover, the mutawātir traditions which describe the Mahdī, his attributes, and his signs, clearly reject such misguided interpretations.
There is no proof in the tradition that Jesus will live after the Mahdī, peace be on him, in addition to the fact that such an idea has also been contradicted by a number of traditions about the Mahdī and other traditions like those about security (al-amān), etc.
It is possible to interpret the tradition like this: His saying: “I am its first (awwaluhā)” means that he is its founder, chief, and source. Thus, this umma will not be destroyed, because its founder and the caller towards it is “a mercy for all the worlds” (raḥmatan lil-`ālamīn). A nation will not be destroyed if its founder possesses such traits and this was the purpose of his dispatching? How can a nation be destroyed that has the Mahdī in its middle? As long as he exists and is alive, this nation will not be destroyed. Amongst the greatest benefits of his existence—even though he is in occultation—is the survival of the nation because of his existence. And how can a nation be destroyed that has Jesus at its end, who will descend in the end of times? This means that this religion will remain and last until the descent of Jesus from the sky. He will descend in the last nation and acknowledge this religion in this very world.
We can conclude that this narration serves to give glad-tidings about the lasting of this religion, the continuous survival of this nation because of the blessings of the Prophet of Islam, who is a mercy for the worlds, and the existence of the Mahdī, peace be on him. This nation will not be destroyed and will remain until the end of times because the descent of Jesus—which is one of the conditions of the Hour—will occur in the last nation. Hence, this nation will survive and remain, as long as humanity exists on the face of earth. Allah, His Messenger, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, and the possessors of knowledge—those from his Ahl al-Bait who are steadfast in it—have more knowledge about the meanings of the Book and the Sunna.

47. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 7, p. 148. He says: Imam Abū `Abd al-Raḥmān al-Nisā’ī has recorded it in his Sunan. I say: I could not locate it in al-Mujtabā min Sunan al-Nisā’ī but this does not mean it does not exist in his Sunan. In fact, there is no doubt about it being present there.

48. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 7, p. 146. He says: Imam Abū `Abd al-Raḥmān al-Nisā’ī has recorded it in his Sunan; Bahjat al-naẓar, sect. 6, has recorded it from Sunan al-Nisā’ī in the chapter: “What has been narrated about the Arabs and the non-Arabs” and this is its last chapter; al-Taṣrīḥ bi mā tawātara fī nuzūl al-Masīḥ, pp. 247–250, no. 66, with a slight difference in the wordings and that he said: “But between this will be a crooked group; they will not be from me nor will I be from them.” He says in his commentary: “The Holy Prophet has described them as a group, then distanced himself from them because of their deviation from the way and path that he had brought.”
I say: This tradition praises the beginning of the nation and its end. The latter, being the time when the universal government of the Mahdī appears, in which Jesus will descend, stay amongst them, and pray behind Imam Mahdī, peace be on him. Also, both versions condemn the majority of the nation between these two eras. This is because of the domination of the kings or those who call themselves the Caliphs. They will come to power and rule without the permission and satisfaction of Allah. Apart from this vast majority, there will be some who will wait for the reappearance of Allah’s command and the establishment of the rightful government of Allah’s Caliph, the Mahdī, peace be on him. They will not approve the atrocities committed by these tyrant kings upon the people, will not assist them in their tyrannies and sins, and will not gain closeness to them or try to satisfy them, because of Allah’s wrath towards them. These are none but the followers of the Imams from the Ahl al-Bait, peace be on them. The same Imams that the tyrants tried to conceal their virtues and what Allah had specially given to them and to destroy their guidance and that of their followers. The crooked groups are the majority which have left the clear path of the Ahl al-Bait and have not held on to them. They have opposed the mutawātir traditions like ḥadīth thaqalain, ḥadīth safīna, ḥadīth amān, etc.
`Alī al-Qārī writes in al-Mirqāt, vol. 5, p. 658: “Traditions with chains of narrators like this are called golden chained (silsilat al-dhahab).”
Al-Mishkāt, vol. 3, p. 293; Yanābī` al-mawadda, p. 489; al-`Umda, vol. 2, sect. “What has been narrated about the Mahdī in the texts of Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sitta from al-Jam’ bain al-ṣiḥāḥ al-sitta of Razīn al-`Abdarī,” p. 224.

49. ‘the most widest and deepest’ probably means they will have the biggest population and will live the longest on earth—Ed.

51. Al-Istī`āb, vol. 1, p. 223; al-`Iṣāba, vol. 1, p. 216, no. 1037 (short version); Usd al-ghāba, vol. 1, p. 260: “After me, there will be caliphs, after the caliphs there will be rulers, after the rulers there will be oppressive kings; then, a person from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge who will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice . . .”; `Iqd al-durar, sect. 1, p. 19, which is the same as Usd al-ghāba, with the difference: “Then, the Mahdī from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge” and “Then he will rule.” He says: “Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim has narrated it in al-Fawā’id and al-Ṭabarānī has recorded it in al-Mu`jam.
I say: The beginning of the tradition of Al-Istī`āb and Usd al-ghāba is strange. Closer to it in strangeness is the note beneath the tradition of Usd al-Ghāba. Thus they cannot be relied upon. One can only rely on his saying: “The Mahdī—who is from my Ahl al-Bait—will emerge,” or, “a man from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge who will fill the earth with justice as it will be filled with injustice.” These can be found in many mutawātir narrations.
Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 265, no. 38667

52. Al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, sect. 13, p. 129. He writes: “This tradition is good (ḥasan). Praise be to Allah for bestowing this upon us. The meaning of his saying “his morals will be my morals,” is one of the best indications that the Mahdī, peace be on him, will take revenge on those who do not believe in the religion of Allah— just as the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, did. And indeed, Allah—the Exalted—has said to His Prophet: “And surely, you are on the greatest morals” (Quran 68:4).
Al-Irbilī writes in Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 486: “His comment, ‘is one of the best indications . . . (to the end)’ is truly amazing! How can he confine the moral attributes of the holy Prophet and only limit them to revenge?! While he possesses all the attributes of the Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, like his nobility, honor, knowledge, forbearance, bravery, and other morals that we have mentioned at the beginning of this book. Even more shocking, is the endorsement of his view by using the aforementioned verse!”
Farā’id al-simṭain, vol. 2, pp. 325–326; `Iqd al-durar, sect. 2, pp. 31–32, from Abū l-Ḥasan al-Raba`ī al-Mālikī, with a little difference; al-Ghadīr, vol. 7, p. 126, citing Zakhāīr al-`uqbā, p. 126, with the following wording: “‘If there remains only one day from the world, Allah will prolong that day until He sends a person from my progeny; his name will be my name.’ Salmān asked, ‘From which of your sons, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘From this son of mine,’ then patted (Imam) al-Ḥusayn’s back, peace be on him.”

57. Al-Mu`jam al-kabīr, vol. 10, no. 10227; Dhikr akhbār Iṣbahān, vol. 1, p. 329.
I say: al-Ṭabarānī has recorded numerous traditions through his chain of narrators from ibn Mas`ūd from the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. You can refer to these traditions which are numbered from 10213 to 10230.

58. Al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 132; Farā’id al-simṭain, vol. 2, chap. 61, p. 317, with the difference: “Allah will send him in a clear manner and the nation will be blessed by him.”

60. Al-Fitan, pp. 192–193; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 153, from Nu`aim, with a little difference; al-Burhān, chap. 1, p. 78, no. 10, with a slight difference. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice. This will continue until the people will no longer have their initial state; the sleeping one will not be awakened and no blood will be shed.”

65. Al-Fitan, vol. 4, chap. 13, p. 167.
I say: This flag which Allah will send is not from the Abbasid flags, as has been clearly explained by Nu`aim in the title of the chapter: “The Black Flags of Mahdī [That Will Come] After the Abbasid and Other Flags”

67. Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, pp. 592–595, no. 39679. Ibn al-Athīr writes in al-Nihāya: “In the tradition of `Alī: ‘Surely after you there is a fitna and calamity that is tedious and frowning’, frowning means people will frown from its intensity.” Muntakhab kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 6, p. 34.

75. Al-I`lām bi ḥukm `Īsā `alayhi al-salām by al-Suyūṭī, published in the collection of books titled: al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī, vol. 2, p. 289.
He says in Ma`ālim al-sunan, vol. 4, p. 344: “Al-Shaykh says, al-jirān is the beginning of the neck (the front part of the camel’s back); it’s mainly referred to the camel when it stretches its neck on the earth. Hence, it is said: The camel has stretched its neck. It does so when it rests in a place for a long time.’ The stretching of the neck of the camel is used as an example for Islam to indicate its establishment and that there will neither be a fitna nor turmoil. Islamic laws will be implemented justly and steadfastly.”

77. Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 1, pp. 42–44; Also, refer to Tadhkirat al-khawāṣ, pp. 128–130, the 6th chapter about the selected sayings of Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him. He has recorded similar to this—with minor differences in wording and meaning—through his chain of narrators from Aḥmad b. `Abd-Allah al-Hāshimī, from Imam Ḥasan al-`Askarī, from Imam al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī, from his father Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on them.

79. The sermon is a long one, the likes of which is not found except in his speech or the speech of his cousin, the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. Al-Raḍī has mentioned it with all its length in Nahj al-balāgha.

81. Yanābī` al-mawadda, chap. 74, p. 438; Sharḥ al-dīwān, under the letter al-Bā’, p. 166
I say: al-Dīwān is a name given to a collection of poems attributed to Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him. It has been published several times and one of its commentaries is the commentary by al-Ḥusayn b. Mu`īn al-Dīn al-Maybudī al-Ḥakīm al-Ṣūfī (d. 870 AH) who was a Sunni. He writes in his commentary: “‘Our Qā’im’ means the one from us who will stand up for the affairs of religion and he is the promised Mahdī who was mentioned in the seventh preface.” He says in Persian what translates to: “The term ‘Master of Judgment Day’ (ṣāḥib al-qiyāma) has been used to refer to the Mahdī because Judgment Day (al-qiyāma) will be established after his rule comes to an end.” He then discusses a second reason for referring to him by this title by saying that in the time of his rising and reappearance, hidden things will become apparent and the realities will become manifest; hence, it will be: “The day when the hidden things become manifest” (Quran 86:9).
I say: It is clear that qiyāma refers to the day of his rising because of the following reasons: domination of the word of Islam, manifestation of truth, and the filling of earth with justice and fairness.

84. Al-Muṣannaf by ibn Abī Shaiba, vol. 15, p. 23, no. 19000; al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 210, with some variations; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 557, no. 39591, with a little difference; Muntakhab kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 6, pp. 19–20; refer to al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 37, sect. 3, p. 176 and chap. 181, sect. 1, p. 80; Nahj al-balāgha, sermon 258. Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd writes in Sharḥ nahj al-balāgha: “This narration is from the narrations about bloody battles which he, peace be on him, has informed of and has mentioned the Mahdī.” Ibn al-Athīr says in al-Nihāya: “And from it is what `Alī, [peace be on him], said: ‘They will gather around him like the gathering of the scattered clouds of autumn.’ Here, autumn is specifically mentioned because it is the beginning of winter and the clouds are scattered in it, neither piled up nor in layers. After that, some of them integrate with others.”

85. This might refer to the testimony of ‘there is no God but Allah,’ as can be inferred from the previous footnote—Ed.

86. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 3, p. 38 and chap. 1, p. 23–24 (short version).
I say: In the published edition of `Iqd al-durar, p. 23, it is mentioned, “`Alī looked at al-Ḥasan.” The researcher of the book says: “In the original [narration] it was ‘al-Ḥasan’ and ‘al-Ḥusayn’ has been mentioned by mistake.” You should know that what the researcher has said is wrong and it is up to him to prove what has been mentioned in the original narration. The oldest manuscript that we have access to and have seen is present in al-Raḍawiyya Library (Kitābkhāniyi Āstān Quds, no. 1752), dated 942 AH, and it is not the manuscript that the researcher has relied on. The one used by the researcher is also available in al-Raḍawiyya Library with the Serial no. 1751, dated 953 AH. We saw that ‘al-Ḥusayn’ was mentioned in the tradition of Abū Wā’il and in the tradition of Abū Isḥāq which he has been mentioned on p. 39 after the current tradition. Anyhow, the oldest manuscripts of this book are two: The first is the manuscript that bears the year 910 AH and belongs to the Berlin Library, with serial no. 2723. This is the manuscript which the researcher has regarded as the original. Yet, he uses other manuscripts when this manuscript is not in conformity with his opinions. The second manuscript is the one in the al-Raḍawiyya Library with the serial no. 1752/185, which is probably older than the Berlin manuscript and al-Ḥusayn has been clearly mentioned in it. Moreover, it is apparent from the book al-Mahdī that in the manuscript which al-Ṣadr possessed, the term ‘al-Ḥusayn’ has been used.
The correctness of the view about al-Ḥusayn is further endorsed by the many mutawātir traditions recorded by us in this book and other books—some of which we have narrated from Sunni sources. For example, in the narration which speaks about al-Ḥasanī handing the affairs over to the Mahdī, peace be on him, he says: “O paternal cousin (yabn al-`am)! This belongs to you.” It is also mentioned in this tradition that “he is from the descendants of Fāṭima and the progeny of al-Ḥusayn, peace be on them. Beware! Whoever accepts other than him as his master, will be cursed by Allah.” Refer to `Iqd al-durar, chap. 4, sect. 2, pp. 90, 99, 137, and 138; and al-Burhān, chap. 1, pp. 76,77, no. 15

87. Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 17, pp. 116–117. He has recorded it from the book Uyūn akhbār Banī-Hāshim, by Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, the famous historian.

92. Al-Iḥtijāj, “The Arguments of the Prophet on the Day of Ghadīr,” pp. 66–84.

93. Al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 6, p. 144, no.8, from the published version that was copied from the manuscript of Ḥaram al-Makkī that was finished by its writer Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan al-Rashīdī in 1272 AH and from the hand-written manuscript that was copied by al-Sharīf al-Sayyid Muḥammad Bāqir al-Sabziwārī from the hand-written script preserved in the Library of the Holy Shrine of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, in Medina and the third manuscript is in the al-Jāmi` Library (A`ẓam Mosque) that was established and built by our master Ayatullah al-Burūjirdī, may Allah reward him with the best of rewards on behalf of Islam and the Muslims.
It has been recorded in Kashf al-astār, sect. 2, p. 164, with the difference: “When a person says ‘Allah,’ he will be killed. Then, Allah will gather for him like the gathering of clouds in autumn; Allah will unite their hearts. They will neither submit to anybody nor will they be recognized by anybody. They will be equal to the number of the soldiers of [the battle of] Badr.” He says: “Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū `Abd-Allah al-Ḥākim has recorded it in al-Mustadrak and has said: “This tradition is correct (ṣaḥīḥ) based on the criteria set by of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, but they have not recorded it [in their Ṣaḥīḥs].”
The author of Kashf al-astār continues: “It is worth mentioning that his saying, ‘He will emerge in the end of times (ākhir al-zamān),’ then counted with his hand to nine, shows the nine names from the progeny of al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him. When he reached Ḥujjat b. al-Ḥasan, peace be on him, he said, ‘He will emerge in the end of times,’ and this is a clear comment from him that the Mahdī is the ninth descendant from the progeny of Imam al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him. Thus, they should be aware.”
I say: This is an acceptable interpretation and there is no harm in it. In the published copy of al-Mustadrak and its summary (vol. 4, p. 554) and similarly in `Iqd al-durar (chap. 4, sect. 1 p. 59, and chap. 5, p. 131) it has been written ‘seven’ instead of ‘nine’ and you will not find a proper interpretation for this. Hence, it is better to leave the interpretation to those who have knowledge about it. In these manuscripts, it is difficult to understand the meaning of the tradition unless we assume that ‘seven’ refers to the years of his kingdom and rule. Of course it is more probable that the three available handwritten manuscripts of al-Burhān and the handwritten manuscript of al-Mustadrak, from which the author of Kashf al-astār has recorded the tradition, are correct. Allah knows the best.
This idea is supported by what some Sunni scholars have mentioned. Muḥammad b. Pāyandi al-Sāwī, in his treatise—which is a manuscript, dated 979 AH, and is an appendix to the book al-Burhān—writes: “I have seen in history books that one day Muḥammad b. Ḥanafiyya came to `Alī, peace be on him, and asked, ‘When will the Mahdī appear?’ He replied, ‘It is far!’, then he counted nine with his hand and said, ‘In the end of times.’”

95. Musnad Abī Ya`lā, vol. 12, p. 19, no. 825 (6665); Majma` al-zawā’id, vol. 7, chap. “Mā jā’a fī l-Mahdī,” p. 315; al-Maṭālib al-`āliya, vol. 4, p. 343, no. 4554; Ibn Khaldūn’s al-Muqaddama, p. 379; Ibrāz al-wahm al-maknūn, p. 577; al-`Arf al-wardī, (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 131, to his saying: “five and two”.
I say: Apparently, his saying “And what is five and two?” is the question of the narrator from Abū Huraira or other than him from one of the other narrators. It is not unlikely that his saying “to the truth,” marks the end of the narration and the two questions were in fact from the narrators who were asking each other. Allah knows the best.

97. Musnad Abī Ya`lā, vol. 2, pp. 356–357, no. 131 (1105); Similar to it can be found in Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, no. 38703, from Abī Ya`lā and ibn `Asākir.

98. Al-Fitan, vol. 1, pp. 19–20; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 138, He says: “Nu`aim b. Ḥammād has recorded it in his book al-Fitan through a reliable chain of narrators in accordance with the criteria set by Muslim.

105. Nahj al-balāgha, sermon 100, ibn Abū al-Ḥadīd writes while explaining this sermon (vol. 7, p. 93): “Know that Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him, delivered this sermon on the third Friday after he became the caliph.” While explaining his saying, “Until Allah brings out for you one who will gather you together and unite you after your separation,” he writes, “that person [who will unite them] is from the Ahl al-Bait, and refers to the Mahdī who will emerge in the end of times” (vol. 7, p. 94). Under his saying: “Allah has completed his obligations upon you . . . ,” he writes: “He then informs them about the closeness of relief (faraj) and says, ‘Allah perfects his obligations upon you and what you hope for is near—as if it has already occurred.’ This is like the divine promise about the establishment of the Hour. All the Holy Books have explicitly declared that it is nearn even though it is far from us and in Allah’s knowledge, all far things are near. He, Glory be to Him, declares, ‘Surely, they deem it to be far while We consider it to be near’ (Quran 70:6–7).”

106. Sharḥ nahj al-balāgha by ibn Maitham, vol. 3, p. 9. He has mentioned this tradition while explaining his saying: “Allah has completed his obligations upon you,” and says: “What he has said is an indication of Allah’s bestowal upon them by the appearance of the Awaited Imam and the reformation of their condition by his presence.” He then writes, “I have seen in the course of some of his sermons a section in which he foretells the events that will occur after him—in addition to explaining this promise. This is what he said, ‘O people! Be aware . . . ,’” which is what we mentioned in the text.

112. In the narration, the term ‘pieces of liver’ has been used instead of ‘treasures.’ Treasures have been likened to ‘pieces of the liver’ and this is indeed an amazing metaphor. For, the liver is one of the most vital organs of the body and so are the treasures of the earth. This is what Sayyid al-Raḍī has mentioned in his book Majāzāt al-āthār al-nabawiyya, no. 231.

118. Al-Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, session 74, p. 396; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 6, p. 143, no. 3; al-Ṭūsī, Al-Amālī, vol. 1, part 7, p. 182, no.1: “Through his chain of narrators from al-Ḥasan b. Maḥbūb, from Abān, from Ismā`īl al-Ju`fī who recounts, ‘A person came to (Imam) Abū Ja’far Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, and with him was a page of questions which were like [arguments for use in] a dispute. (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, said to him, ‘This is a page which disputes the religion by which Allah accepts the deeds.’ He replied, ‘May Allah have mercy on you! This is what I intend!’ (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, said, ‘Testify that there is no god except Allah, He is Alone and has no partner, and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. Acknowledge what he has brought from Allah and the Mastership (wilaya) of us Ahl al-Bait and express hatred toward our enemies and submit to us with humility and contentment and await our rule, because surely for us is a government that will come if Allah wills.’”

119. Dalā’il al-imāma, p. 235, sect. “Ma`rifat wujūb al-Qā’im,’ no. 6. Traditions with the same meaning have also been narrated in pp. 223, 224, and 226.

127. This refers to the mother of Imam Muḥammad b. `Alī al-Riḍā, peace be on him. She was from the city of Nūbiyya and was called Sabīka. “The son of the best lady from the city of Nūbiyya” does not refer to our master Imam al-Mahdī, peace be on him, as is suggested by the author of al-Wāfī, who writes, “It refers to the Mahdī, the Master of Time, Allah’s blessings be on him. It seems he has been attributed to his grand-mother, the mother of Imam Abū Ja`far al-Thānī, peace be on him . . .” He has reached this conclusion by relying on the manuscript of al-Kāfī. Apparently, the following statement has been deleted from it: “From his progeny will be the driven-away (al-ṭarīd), the wanderer (al-sharīd)”. The manuscript of al-Irshād clarifies the meaning.

128. Nafas al-mahmūm, pp. 242–243. It is worth mentioning that the book al-Kāmil, has been written in Persian and it mentions the translation of the Imam’s sermon, Al-Kāmil, vol. 2, pp. 299–302.

135. The ‘Day of Returning’ is the Day of Raj`a and it is the day about which Allah, the Exalted, says: “And on the day when We will gather from every nation a group from among those who reject Our signs, then they will be held in ranks” (Quran 27:83). On this day, only a group from the deniers and a group from the believers will be gathered. This has been mentioned in detail in mutawātir traditions. As for the Day of Judgment, then on that Great Day, all the people will be raised without exception as has been announced by Allah, the Exalted: “and We will gather them and leave not any one of them behind” (Quran 18:47), and His saying: “On that day people will come in scattered groups to be shown their deeds” (Quran 99:6), “The day in which people will be like scattered moths” (Quran 101:4), “On the day that you will see every breast-feeder forgetting about what she was breast-feeding, and every pregnant female will drop her fetus, and people will be drunk but (in fact) they are not drunk, and the punishment of Allah will be severe” (Quran 22: 2). The clear verses that describe the Day of Judgment are indeed numerous and so are the verses that refer to the ‘Day of Returning.’. These two groups of verses can be separated by pondering in their style and wordings. Indeed, traditions narrated from the infallible Imams, peace be on them, have also distinguished between these two groups of Quranic verses.
One must never consider the return of the dead to this world as improbable, because such things have already happened by the miracles of the divine Prophets and Allah, the Exalted, has informed us about them in the following verses: “Or like the person [`Uzair] who passed by a town and its [walls] had fallen down upon its roofs . . . So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years then raised him to life” (Quran 2:259), and: “Did you not see those who deserted their homes for fear of death, and they were thousands, then Allah said to them, ‘Die’ and then He gave them life [again]” (Quran 2:243), and in the story of Ayyūb: “Then We responded to him and removed what was harming him, and We gave him his family and the like of them with them” (Quran 21:84). Moreover, prominent Sunni scholars like ibn Mardawayh and others have narrated from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, that the Companions of the Cave (aṣḥāb al-kahf) will return to this world when the Mahdī rises.
We must always remember that surely Allah is powerful over all things. The belief in Mahdawiyya and the faith in Raj`a are not two things that are inseparable. The importance of believing in Raj`a is not like the importance of believing in Mahdawiyya about which the entire Muslim nation has consensus about, and which has reliable traditions from both the sects to support it. In this book, we intend to establish the belief in the Awaited Mahdī, peace be on him, and explain it and elaborate on it. The matter of Raj`a—in addition to the fact that its position is unlike that of Mahdawiyya—has no role in proving the belief in Mahdawiyya. Discussions about Raj`a, investigations concerning it, and its details must be debated elsewhere.

137. Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 2, “Kitāb al-Mahdī,” pp. 208–209; al-Tāj al-jāmi` lil-uṣūl, “Kitāb al-fitan wa `alāmāt al-sā`a,” vol. 5, chap. 7, p. 344. The author of Ghāyat al-ma’mūl (printed in the marginal notes of al-Tāj) writes: “In the end of times a righteous person will emerge from Mā Warā al-Nahr. His name will be Ḥārith. He will have a great army that will be led by a great person whose name will be Manṣūr. This man will prepare the ground for the seed of Muḥammad. He will prepare the army, the reserves, and the wealth to help the caliph who will appear and he will be the Mahdī. Just like the companions who prepared the ground for the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family]. It is compulsory for every believer to help this army and this caliph because both are [on the path] of truth.”